grueling

[groo-uh-ling, groo-ling] 

 

• Examples
• Word Origin

adjective

1.

exhausting; very tiring; arduously severe:

the grueling Boston marathon.

noun

2.

any trying or exhausting procedure or experience.

Also, especially British, gruelling.

Origin

1850-1855

1850-55; slang gruel punishment (noun), punish (v.) + -ing2, -ing1

Related forms

gruelingly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2015.
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Examples from the web for grueling

• The grueling schedule that many doctors go through to train as specialists isabout to ease.
• They put themselves through grueling marathons of public scrutiny.
• Business travel is grueling enough without having to put up with someoneyou don't know well for the entire evening.

British Dictionary definitions for grueling

gruelling

/ˈɡruːəlɪŋ/

adjective 

1.

severe or tiring: a gruelling interview

noun 

2.

(informal) a severe experience, esp punishment

Word Origin

C19: from now obsolete vb gruel to exhaust, punish