grueling

[ groo-uh-ling, groo-ling ]

adjective

1. exhausting; very tiring; arduously severe:

   the grueling Boston marathon.

noun

1. any trying or exhausting procedure or experience.

Other Words From

• gruel·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of grueling¹

First recorded in 1850–55; slang gruel “punishment” (noun), “to punish” (verb) + -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

His summer training camps were both grueling and meticulous.

From Washington Post

She applied to 28 schools and invested thousands of dollars into the process, which she described as “one of the most grueling periods” of her life.

From Vox

The ten-kilometer skate climb in Val di Fiemme, Italy, is one of the most grueling courses on cross-country skiing’s World Cup circuit.

From Outside Online

After a grueling two-week stretch with games every three or four days — including four opponents currently ranked in the top 15 — the Terps finally had a five-day layoff before Saturday’s game against Nebraska.

From Washington Post

The first half-hour or so of Pieces of a Woman—directed by Kornél Mundruczó and starring Vanessa Kirby as a woman whose child dies just minutes after birth, and now streaming on Netflix—is so emotionally grueling that it’s almost unbearable.

From Time

Some might lack the fortitude—or masochism—required to endure a grueling campaign (Rubio).

From The Daily Beast

In a grueling two-hour questioning, Carter provided testimony as to why the drug can be useful in pain management.

From The Daily Beast

Jaguar scored epic wins at the grueling Le Mans 24-hour race.

From The Daily Beast

In June 1909, Model Ts were two of the first three finishers in a grueling New York-to-Seattle rally.

From The Daily Beast

After 15 hours of grueling interrogations, he was brought before judges and placed under formal investigation.

From The Daily Beast

The trip promised to be perilous and fraught with danger, as well as grueling and full of hardships.

From Project Gutenberg

Stover, in the long grueling days of practice, had won the respect of all.

From Project Gutenberg

I had a grueling battle with him, and at the end of two hours and fifty minutes he broke my hook.

From Project Gutenberg

Not one day, scarcely one hour had been free of grueling labor.

From Project Gutenberg

For infantry as well as cavalry there is the same grueling routine.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• arduous
• backbreaking
• brutal
• demanding
• excruciating
• exhausting
• fierce
• laborious
• punishing
• strenuous
• tiring
• torturous
• trying