gruelling
adjective/ˈɡruːəlɪŋ/
/ˈɡruːəlɪŋ/
(especially British English) (North American English usually grueling)
- very difficult and making you very tired, needing great effort for a long time synonym punishing
- a gruelling journey/schedule
- I've had a gruelling day.
Extra ExamplesTopics Working lifec2- It had been a gruelling season, but the final result made it worthwhile.
- a gruelling work schedule
- a sporting event that represents a gruelling test of endurance
- the gruelling journey on foot from London to Rome
Oxford Collocations DictionaryGruelling/grueling is used with these nouns:- journey
- process
- race
- …
Word Originmid 19th cent.: from the verb gruel ‘exhaust, punish’, from an old phrase get one's gruel ‘receive one's punishment’.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Check pronunciation:
gruelling