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gruelling

British  
/ ˈɡruːəlɪŋ /

adjective

  1. severe or tiring

    a gruelling interview

"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

noun

  1. informal a severe experience, esp punishment

"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

Etymology

Origin of gruelling

C19: from now obsolete vb gruel to exhaust, punish


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.

See Examples For:

Getting this movement to a more positive destination is possible, but it looks like a gruelling task.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Her mum's a big fan of the Netflix series, which follows the cheerleaders through gruelling auditions and training regimes as they compete for their spot dancing in one of the world's best known squads.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Yuriy, a senior instructor who led one of the squads across the gruelling obstacle course, has at times pondered the necessity of such trials given the nature of drone warfare.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

"The five years have been so gruelling that I feel like a 500-year-old woman, one who cannot die."

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

As soon as this happened, they cheerfully abandoned the gruelling, dangerous, and often spartan life of hunter-gatherers, settling down to enjoy the pleasant, satiated life of farmers.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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