grueling

especially British, gru·el·ling

[groo-uh-ling, groo-ling]

adjective

1. exhausting; very tiring; arduously severe.

   the grueling Boston marathon.

noun

1. any trying or exhausting procedure or experience.

Other Word Forms

• gruelingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of grueling¹

First recorded in 1850–55; slang gruel “punishment” (noun), “to punish” (verb) + -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

He is in the midst of a brave and grueling career pivot.

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Shooting these episodes, several previous participants told Salon, is a grueling task.

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Previously, she worked at a restaurant, but the grueling work for little pay pushed her to seek employment elsewhere, especially since she had a child to raise.

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He ran marathons and finished grueling Spartan Races.

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So successful, in fact, that after six months of grueling and dangerous work, the decks of two vessels were so filled with drying sponges that there was little room left to move about.

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Related Words

• arduous 
• backbreaking 
• brutal 
• demanding 
• excruciating 
• exhausting 
• fierce 
• laborious 
• punishing 
• strenuous 
• tiring www.thesaurus.com
• torturous 
• trying