Standard Lemma guide

gruelling

adj · noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈɡɹʊə.lɪŋ/
  • US: /ˈɡɹu.lɪŋ/
  • US: /ˈɡɹu.əl.ɪŋ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Very difficult or taxing; exhausting; backbreaking.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A race in which the animal being raced finishes in a state of physical exhaustion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: hobbies, horse-racing, horseracing, horses, lifestyle, pets, racing, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A gruelling ordeal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

present participle and gerund of gruel

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • worked their arduous way up the mining valley
  • a grueling campaign
  • hard labor
  • heavy work
  • heavy going
  • spent many laborious hours on the project
  • set a punishing pace

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: arduous, backbreaking, grueling, hard, heavy, laborious, operose, punishing, toilsome

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From present participle of gruel (“to exhaust, punish”), from gruel (noun).

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: изтощителен (iztoštitelen) — very difficult or taxing
  • Bulgarian: мъчителен (mǎčitelen) — very difficult or taxing
  • Catalan: ardu — very difficult or taxing
  • Czech: vyčerpávající — very difficult or taxing
  • Czech: vysilující — very difficult or taxing
  • Czech: únavný — very difficult or taxing
  • Dutch: afmattend — very difficult or taxing
  • Dutch: uitputtend — very difficult or taxing
  • Finnish: uuvuttava — very difficult or taxing
  • French: éreintant — very difficult or taxing
  • French: exténuant — very difficult or taxing
  • Galician: esgotador — very difficult or taxing
  • German: zermürbend — very difficult or taxing
  • Italian: estenuante — very difficult or taxing
  • Polish: wyczerpujący — very difficult or taxing
  • Portuguese: esgotante — very difficult or taxing
  • Portuguese: exaustivo — very difficult or taxing
  • Russian: изнури́тельный (iznurítelʹnyj) — very difficult or taxing
  • Russian: истощающий (istoščajuščij) — very difficult or taxing
  • Serbo-Croatian: iscrpljujući — very difficult or taxing
  • Spanish: penoso — very difficult or taxing
  • Spanish: extenuante — very difficult or taxing
  • Spanish: agotador — very difficult or taxing
  • Ukrainian: виснажливий (vysnažlyvyj) — very difficult or taxing