grueling

adjective

gru·​el·​ing ˈgrü-ə-liŋ How to pronounce grueling (audio)
variants or gruelling
: trying or taxing to the point of exhaustion : punishing
a grueling race
gruelingly adverb

Examples of grueling in a Sentence

running a marathon is grueling cutting diamonds can be grueling work
Recent Examples on the Web More chamber piece than horror picture, Henry Hobson’s understated and somber film deals with a zombie outbreak in realistically grueling terms. Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 26 Apr. 2024 Woven throughout this dutiful history are scenes of Jon in more recent years, as Chopra follows the singer through his 2022 tour, subsequent vocal surgery and grueling recovery process. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Apr. 2024 Marijuana is also celebrated, while a long history of amphetamine and cocaine use is alternately winked at or swept under the rug, the necessary evils of a grueling career. Jeff Gage, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024 But behind the scenes, housekeepers do much more to ensure guests have the seamlessly luxurious experience expected on vacation through grueling labor. Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024 Separately, a chilling recent report in Sky News Arabia detailed how in the capital, Khartoum, protracted, grueling urban warfare has led to a spike in the migration of European vultures and a boom in the population of stray dogs, all drawn to the city’s carrion. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024 As the walls of reality begin to vanish and the trust between them unravels, survival becomes a test of grueling proportions. Jack Dunn, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024 In April 2016, the future Prince and Princess of Wales embarked on a week-long tour to the Asian countries, which included a grueling hike to the Tiger Nest monastery, a sacred Buddhist site in the Himalayas. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 16 Apr. 2024 There, the current Lakewood resident worked 14-hour days for 68 consecutive days, grueling labor that prompted him to search out a path away from the mining industry that many of his family members had already trod. Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grueling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of obsolete gruel to exhaust, punish, from gruel, noun

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of grueling was in 1852

Dictionary Entries Near grueling

Cite this Entry

“Grueling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grueling. Accessed 3 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

grueling

adjective
gru·​el·​ing
variants or gruelling
: requiring extreme effort : exhausting

More from Merriam-Webster on grueling

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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