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

Saturday night, the Knicks faced their first test in what promises to be a grueling stretch of games. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2025

Balazs decided to open up the Chateau’s nine residential cottages to firefighters who are on breaks from long and grueling shifts and union members from L.A.’s creative industries who were evacuated or lost their homes. —Krystie Lee Yandoli, Rolling Stone, 20 Jan. 2025

After relocating to the nearby Crescenta Valley sheriff’s station, deputies from Altadena and across the county flocked to the area for grueling days of 12-hour shifts. —Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025

As thousands of residents begin a grueling search for long-term housing, agents are looking for empty properties that homeowners can rent out. —Jennifer Medina, New York Times, 16 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