variants
or gruelling
1
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
running a marathon is grueling
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in challenging
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
cutting diamonds can be grueling work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grueling
After a grueling major season, golf professionals are finally catching their breath.
—
Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 July 2025
This year, Wisconsin plays at Alabama on Sept. 13, followed a grueling conference schedule.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 24 July 2025
The release of the CBO analysis Monday comes at the end of a grueling legislative fight, but at the start of a longer political struggle to come as the two parties clash over the law’s impact on the economy, healthcare and government programs.
—Kevin Freking, Fortune, 22 July 2025
Adding to that desire is that the chamber is hitting the tail end of a grueling six-month stretch.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for grueling
Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 July 2025
This year, Wisconsin plays at Alabama on Sept. 13, followed a grueling conference schedule.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 24 July 2025
The release of the CBO analysis Monday comes at the end of a grueling legislative fight, but at the start of a longer political struggle to come as the two parties clash over the law’s impact on the economy, healthcare and government programs.
—Kevin Freking, Fortune, 22 July 2025
Adding to that desire is that the chamber is hitting the tail end of a grueling six-month stretch.
—Al Weaver, The Hill, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for grueling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grueling
Adjective
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This deep understanding of local transportation patterns would have been difficult with rapid multi-city expansion.—
Tima Bansal,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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But even though scientists have been able to discover thousands of planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system in recent years, including some around Proxima Centauri, which is fairly a dim star, it's been difficult to go planet-hunting around Alpha Centauri A and B, which orbit each other.—
Nell Greenfieldboyce,
NPR,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Taking the most challenging courses available — like AP, IB, honors, or dual enrollment classes — signals preparedness for college-level work.—
Liz Doe Stone,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Getting the Supreme Court to take this case at all is going to be extremely challenging.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Baldwin has done it while playing the most difficult and demanding position on the diamond, mentally in terms of daily meetings and film study, and physically from the toll of working beneath pads in the summer heat and getting nicked up from foul tips, collisions and occasional wayward swings.—
David O'Brien,
New York Times,
14 Aug. 2025
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This has come as a result of America being too demanding and being very political.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The dogsledding sequences are exhilarating to watch but were arduous to shoot.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
1 Aug. 2025
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Christine put that same amount of time into another award-winning story that chronicled the arduous physical journey of a survivor of the 2007 crash that killed five Oswego teenagers and sent the driver to prison for over a decade.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Even if increasing competition and financial obstruction have influenced summer recruitment, making this season’s challenges tougher, the confidence in Unai Emery and Villa’s football department remains unerring.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
14 Aug. 2025
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Sanctions have roiled Russia's economy and Trump could use tougher measures as leverage over Putin, said Richard Portes, professor of economics at London Business School.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Every insurance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of insurance products.—
Liz Knueven,
CNBC,
15 Aug. 2025
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While the certification was not specifically a result of litigation, pursuing rigorous, third-party validation of AI practices is increasingly viewed as an industry best practice.—
Marc Blythe,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In a nod to the clock tower that stands tall over the downtown along Santa Fe Drive, the new market will be called Clock Tower Landing.—
Tammy Ljungblad,
Kansas City Star,
18 Aug. 2025
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Aastha, meanwhile, is 3 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 35 lbs.—
Bailey Richards,
People.com,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Sandoval has received some pay bumps, including a temporary $10,000-a-year bonus for Hawaii special education teachers designed to alleviate shortages in that and other hard-to-staff areas.—
Alia Wong,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2023
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Whether those numbers are an overstatement, or possibly an understatement, is hard to say.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
13 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Grueling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grueling. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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