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

During the grueling battle for Bakhmut, Yenot told me, Ukraine had too few shells, and those it did have had been produced by a hodgepodge of foreign companies. —Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Atlantic, 27 May 2025

Just two weeks prior, the R&B singer — at roughly eight-and-a-half months pregnant — took the stand as the star witness in Diddy’s federal trial, giving grueling testimony against her ex over four consecutive days. —Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News, 27 May 2025

Raducanu used the time to gather her strength and serve the set out, but the prevailing illness was clearly affecting her ability to hold concentration after a grueling 63-minute opener. —Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025

Enduring 92-degree Texas heat, Grapevine (25-13) took Hallsville (37-5-1) to extra innings in game two before falling in a grueling nine-inning battle. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 May 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

Rhymes for grueling

• refueling

Kids Definition

grueling

adjective

gru·​el·​ing

variants or gruelling

ˈgrü-ə-liŋ 

: requiring extreme effort : exhausting