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grueling

[groo-uh-ling, groo-ling]
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adjective
  1. exhausting; very tiring; arduously severe: the grueling Boston marathon.
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noun
  1. any trying or exhausting procedure or experience.
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Also especially British, gru·el·ling.

Origin of grueling

1850–55; slang gruel punishment (noun), punish (v.) + -ing2, -ing1
Related formsgru·el·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gruelling

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It was a gruelling four years' struggle, but with success at the end of it.

    Herbert Hoover

    Vernon Kellogg

  • Natalie insisted on camping early; for it had been a gruelling afternoon on Garth.

    Two on the Trail

    Hulbert Footner

  • The place was a rest billet, which we had just reached after a gruelling on the Somme.

  • But they were met by a gruelling volley, and with the cry of "No quarter!"

    Famous Indian Chiefs

    Charles H. L. Johnston

  • The final bout of fireworks was a gruelling for both champions.

    Ulysses

    James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for gruelling

gruelling

US grueling

adjective
  1. severe or tiringa gruelling interview
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noun
  1. informal a severe experience, esp punishment
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Word Origin

C19: from now obsolete vb gruel to exhaust, punish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gruelling

adj.

also grueling, "exhausting, punishing," 1891, from late 18c. slang get one's gruel "receive one's punishment," from gruel.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper