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
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List 7
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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.
After she emerged from a grueling two-week stint in the hospital, I told her that she looked beautiful despite everything.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Enacting change at the federal level has been a grueling process.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
But the contract also secured a 40-hour week with flex time off for extra hours, addressing long-standing complaints about grueling schedules.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026
The immigration crackdown and tepid interest among teens make it tough to fill jobs marked by grueling work, low pay and high turnover.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
As grueling as the fall of 1933 was for Joe, it wasn’t quite all work and loneliness.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
