Tedious

This is a word I should know, but for some reason, it often escapes me. Someone mentioned their work being "tedious," and it occurred to me that I often forget to use it. So if I'm doing work that requires concentration, is detail-oriented, and not very exciting (ie, it numbs the brain), then I should use that word. But for some reason, I'll say that such work is "nitpicky" when what I mean is tedious, implying that it's very detail-oriented and tiny in its goals.

However, when I saw the definition as "so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness," I realized that it's not exactly what I've meant to say, though if I'm doing such work it does become quite boring, as in the example they provide: "the deadening effect of some routine tasks." So actually, since I've seen that definition, I've realized that yes, the work I sometimes do is truly tedious because by the end of it I want to scream and run around and get away from it to loosen my brain.

I've certainly not thought of their other example, "a boring evening with uninteresting people," as tedious but rather as a simply uninteresting time. I think if I were to get to the point of a social function being "tedious," then I better check my ego to make sure it's not outgrowing the room.