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repare or make ready; having the power of preparing, qualifying, or fitting; preparatory. Laborious quest of knowledge preparative to this work. South.

To collect or draw together with laborious industry; to gather from a wide space; to scrape together; as, to rake together wealth; to rake together slanderous tales; to rake together the rabble of a town.

To retrace; to go over again. Shall I the long, laborious scene review Pope.

ty; scholastic doctrines or philosophy. The spirit of the old scholasticism . . . spurned laborious investigation and slow induction. J. P. Smith.

To occupy one's self with getting laboriously; as, he scraped and saved until he became rich. "[Spend] their scraping fathers' gold." Shak.

Of or pertaining to slaves; such as becomes or befits a slave; servile; excessively laborious; as, a slavish life; a slavish dependance on the great. -- Slav"ish*ly, adv. -- Slav"ish*ness, n.

he clear spirit doth raise (That last infirmity of noble mind) To scorn delights and live laborious days. Milton.

Causing sweat; hence, laborious; toilsome; difficult. "The sweaty forge." Prior.

To make less painful or laborious; to relieve; as, to sweeten the cares of life. Dryden. And sweeten every secret tear. Keble.

Crushed; subdued; depressed; spiritless. Tame slaves of the laborious plow. Roscommon.

Producing or involving much toil; laborious; toilsome; as, toilful care. Mickle.

Attended with toil, or fatigue and pain; laborious; wearisome; as, toilsome work. What can be toilsome in these pleasant walks Milton. -- Toil"some*ly, adv. -- Toil"some*ness, n.

Causing travail; laborious. [Obs.] Wyclif. -- Trav"ail*ous*ly, adv. [Obs.] Wyclif.

ow; as, to tug a loaded cart; to tug a ship into port. There sweat, there strain, tug the laborious oar. Roscommon.

In a tugging manner; with laborious pulling.

Not laboriously produced, or not evincing labor; as, an unlabored style or work. Tickell.

To make one's way slowly and with difficulty; to move or penetrate laboriously; to proceed with effort; -- with a following preposition, as down, out, into, up, through, and the like; as, scheme works out by degrees; to work into the earth. Till body up to spirit work, in bounds Proportioned to each kind. Milton.…