grueling
Americanadjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grueling
First recorded in 1850–55; slang gruel “punishment” (noun), “to punish” (verb) + -ing 1, -ing 2
Explanation
If a job is grueling, that means it is really difficult. If a race is grueling, that means it is really difficult. If a trip to the dentist is grueling, that means you need to toughen up. Once upon a time in a land far far away (like eighteenth century England) there was an expression, to “get one’s gruel,” which meant “receive one’s punishment.” This saying morphed into the word grueling, which can be applied to any punishing activity. Presumably, to “get one’s gruel” involved horrible punishments, but now the more pampered among us might even find a long tennis match grueling.
Vocabulary lists containing grueling
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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List 7
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Touching Spirit Bear
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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.
One morning in April, a bleary-eyed Michelle plopped into bed fully clothed after completing her grueling 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. shift.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
That might seem like good news to those of us who have had to choke down hotel-room coffee to perk up after a grueling travel day.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Enacting change at the federal level has been a grueling process.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
But it’d be fun, not too physically grueling.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
They would sit around our big wood table after a fancy dinner and compare sensations in the same way we cadets compared the blisters on our hands after a particularly grueling training session.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
