grueling

adjective

gru·​el·​ing ˈgrü-ə-liŋ 

variants or gruelling

: trying or taxing to the point of exhaustion : punishing

a grueling race

gruelingly

ˈgrü-ə-liŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• arduous
• Augean
• backbreaking
• challenging
• demanding
• difficult
• effortful
• exacting
• formidable
• hard
• heavy
• hellacious
• herculean
• killer
• laborious
• moiling
• murderous
• pick-and-shovel
• rigorous
• rough
• rugged
• severe
• stiff
• strenuous
• sweaty
• tall
• testing
• toilsome
• tough
• uphill

Examples of grueling in a Sentence

running a marathon is grueling

cutting diamonds can be grueling work

Recent Examples on the Web

That gives a sense of the long, lonely and often stressful stretches of the Vendée Globe, considered the most grueling, nonstop, single-handed race in sailing history. —George Allen, Robb Report, 15 Jan. 2025

Forbidden from participating in Taoist rituals because of her gender, Yuet works as a paramedic, but her grueling schedule only further distances her from her family, and has led her into a number of deeply unsatisfying romantic entanglements. —James Marsh, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2025

The music has yet to stop, but most of the chairs are filled at Nebraska with a week to go before returning and new football players convene ahead of the start of a grueling winter workout schedule. —Mitch Sherman, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025

My radiation treatment happened over the course of just a few weeks, one grueling month. —Eldiara Doucette, People.com, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

grueling

adjective

gru·​el·​ing

variants or gruelling

ˈgrü-ə-liŋ 

: requiring extreme effort : exhausting