Definition of "sedulous"
sedulous
adjective
comparative more sedulous, superlative most sedulous
Of a person: diligent in application or pursuit; constant and persevering in business or in endeavours to effect a goal; steadily industrious.
Quotations
Since firſt this Subject for Heroic Song / Pleaſ'd me long chooſing, and beginning late; / Not ſedulous by Nature to indite / Warrs, hitherto the onely Argument / Heroic deem'd, [...]
1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, lines 25–29
His [Edward III of England's] parliament made frequent remonſtrances againſt this baſe oblivion of himſelf: the parliaments, at this time, were not as formerly, factions ready to oppreſs public liberty, but aſſemblies of wiſe and good men, ſedulous for common welfare, and of wiſdom equal to the rectitude of their intentions; [...]
1764, [Oliver Goldsmith], “Letter XIX”, in An History of England, in a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to His Son, London: Printed for J[ohn] Newbery, […], page 137; republished London: Printed for T. Carnan and F[rancis] Newbery, Jun. […], 1772, page 141
Leading the life I did, of the sedulous, strained nurse, I had to do something to keep myself fit.
1915, Ford Madox Hueffer [i.e., Ford Madox Ford], chapter I, in The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company; republished Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, 1972 (1982 printing), part I, page 15
The pretty setting and glittering ship and dashing staff and sedulous servants and solicitous fun-managers all want something from me, and it’s not just the price of my ticket—they’ve already got that.
1997, David Foster Wallace, “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company
Of an activity: carried out with diligence.
Quotations
Now as there are many great wits to be condemned, who have neglected the increment of Arts, and the ſedulous purſuit of knowledge; ſo are there not a few very much to be pittied, whoſe induſtry being not attended with naturall parts, they have ſweat to little purpoſe, and rolled the ſtone in vain.
1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Nearer and More Immediate Causes of Popular Errours, […]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], 1st book, page 14
Miss [Elizabeth] Branwell's affectionate regard for her dead sister's [Maria Branwell's] children caused her to take deep interest in everything relating to them, their health, the comfort and cleanliness of their home, and the sedulous culture of their minds.
1886, Francis A. Leyland, “The Rev. Patrick Brontë”, in The Brontë Family: With Special Reference to Patrick Branwell Brontë [...] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Hurst and Blackett, publishers, […], page 55
With the right equipment, an indoor grower could create a utopia for his plants, an artificial habitat more perfect than any in nature, and his happy, happy weeds would respond. These sedulous attentions would be wasted on male plants, which are worse than useless in sinsemilla production.
2001, Michael Pollan, “Desire: Intoxication/Plant: Marijuana”, in The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, New York, N.Y.: Random House, page 135; republished New York, N.Y.: Random House, 2014