taskmaster

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who imposes hard, continuous, or exacting work on others

   The foreman was a relentless taskmaster who tolerated no delay.

2. 2
   noun

   a force, duty, or circumstance that makes severe demands

   Debt became a taskmaster that governed every household decision.

A compound of task + master. In early English, including biblical translations, it named an overseer who exacted labor from workers. The figurative sense treats an obligation, circumstance, or abstract force as a harsh supervisor.

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