Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Arduous \Ar"du*ous\ (?; 135), a. [L. arduus steep, high; akin to
   Ir. ard high, height.]
   1. Steep and lofty, in a literal sense; hard to climb.

            Those arduous paths they trod.        --Pope.

   2. Attended with great labor, like the ascending of
      acclivities; difficult; laborious; as, an arduous
      employment, task, or enterprise.

   Syn: Difficult; trying; laborious; painful; exhausting.

   Usage: {Arduous}, {Hard}, {Difficult}. Hard is simpler,
          blunter, and more general in sense than difficult; as,
          a hard duty to perform, hard work, a hard task, one
          which requires much bodily effort and perseverance to
          do. Difficult commonly implies more skill and sagacity
          than hard, as when there is disproportion between the
          means and the end. A work may be hard but not
          difficult. We call a thing arduous when it requires
          strenuous and persevering exertion, like that of one
          who is climbing a precipice; as, an arduous task, an
          arduous duty. ``It is often difficult to control our
          feelings; it is still harder to subdue our will; but
          it is an arduous undertaking to control the unruly and
          contending will of others.''

Source : WordNet®

arduous
     adj 1: characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion;
            especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way
            up the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard
            labor"; "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many
            laborious hours on the project"; "set a punishing
            pace" [syn: {backbreaking}, {grueling}, {gruelling}, {hard},
             {heavy}, {laborious}, {punishing}, {toilsome}]
     2: taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance; "his
        final, straining burst of speed"; "a strenuous task";
        "your willingness after these six arduous days to remain
        here"- F.D.Roosevelt [syn: {straining}, {strenuous}]
     3: difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental
        effort and skill; "the arduous work of preparing a
        dictionary"