Synonyms and related words :
Herculean, aching, achy, acute, affecting, afflictive, aggravating, agonizing, algetic, annoying, arduous, assiduous, atrocious, backbreaking, besetting, biting, bitter, bleak, bothersome, burdensome, burning, careful, cheerless, comfortless, conscientious, cramping, cruel, crushing, demanding, deplorable, depressing, depressive, detailed, diligent, discomforting, dismal, dismaying, disquieting, distasteful, distressful, distressing, disturbing, dolorific, dolorogenic, dolorous, dreary, earnest, effortful, exacting, exasperating, excruciating, forced, galling, gnawing, grave, grievous, griping, grueling, harassing, hard, hard-earned, hard-fought, harrowing, harsh, heavy, hefty, hurtful, hurting, irksome, irritating, joyless, killing, labored, laborious, lamentable, meticulous, mournful, moving, onerous, operose, oppressive, painstaking, paroxysmal, pathetic, piercing, piteous, pitiable, plaguey, poignant, pungent, punishing, racking, raw, regrettable, rigorous, rueful, sad, saddening, scrupulous, sedulous, sensitive, severe, sharp, shooting, smarting, sore, sorrowful, spasmatic, spasmic, spasmodic, stabbing, stinging, strained, strenuous, tender, thorough, thoroughgoing, throbbing, toilsome, tormenting, torturous, touching, tough, troublesome, troubling, trying, unappetizing, uncomfortable, unpalatable, unpleasant, unsavory, uphill, vexatious, vexing, wearisome, woebegone, woeful, worrisome, worrying, wretched