gruel
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gruel
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Middle French, Old French, perhaps via an intermediary such as Medieval Latin grūtellum (unrecorded), from grūtum “flour, meal” (from a Germanic source akin to German Grütze “ground cereal grains”; see grits, grout) + -ellum, diminutive suffix
Compare meaning
How does gruel compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Gruel is a truly unpleasant food — weak and runny, consisting of oatmeal or cornmeal boiled in milk or water. It's the kind of "slop" prisoners and other inmates of institutions were historically forced to eat. Gruel was made most famous by Dickens's Oliver Twist, the little orphan boy in the workhouse, who was so hungry he even asked for seconds of it: "Please sir, I want some more." Gruel's reputation, not great to begin with, never recovered. From this delightful substance comes the adjective grueling, describing an experience that's exhausting and punishing. "To get one's gruel" was 1700s slang meaning "to receive one's punishment." Even back then gruel had a bad rap.
Vocabulary lists containing gruel
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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Island of the Blue Dolphins
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gruel had seen Dominguez evolve as an intern from small tasks to doing tech support for Curiosity engineers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2022
“I could tell that Luis was going to be a catch and that JPL would definitely benefit from bringing him on as a full-time engineer,” Gruel said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2022
“I can get on an airplane and I can fly and eat and do whatever I want,” Mr. Gruel, who has appeared as a Food Network judge, said Thursday.
From Washington Times • Dec. 4, 2020
They say they were pressured into taking part in reflexology sessions, some of them conducted with Ms Gruel.
From BBC • Dec. 12, 2017
I need not here give recipes for ordinary oatmeal gruel, but Lentil Gruel may be new to some.
From Reform Cookery Book (4th edition) Up-To-Date Health Cookery for the Twentieth Century. by Mill, Mrs. (Jean Oliver)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
