gruel

American  

[groo-uhl] / ˈgru əl /

noun

1. a light, usually thin, cooked cereal made by boiling meal, especially oatmeal, in water or milk.

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gruel British  

/ ˈɡruːəl /

noun

1. a drink or thin porridge, made by boiling meal, esp oatmeal, in water or milk

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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”; grits, grout ) + -ellum, diminutive suffix

Compare meaning

How does gruel compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• gruel vs. porridge

Example Sentences

Gregor Townsend gave something of a party political broadcast on behalf of the positivity party in the aftermath, a promise of jam tomorrow after gruel today.

From BBC

The way he behaved when Oliver asked for more gruel—I knew exactly how that felt.

From Literature

But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.

From Los Angeles Times

If you can have the "full-fat option", he asks, why would you go for the "fairly thin gruel" on offer at the moment?

From BBC

By historical standards that’s pretty thin gruel, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says it even might overstate job creation.

From MarketWatch