bruising

Faced with a bruising loss for his party in the European Parliament vote, he called a snap parliamentary election which he hoped would achieve "a clear majority in serenity and harmony".

It's been a bruising first week back for the government, full of resignations, reshuffles, and ructions in markets.

Its leitmotif is push and pull: unsettling, bruising, often brutal, yet ultimately life-affirming.

They had a bruising year in 2024, and found themselves in an unlikely position: protecting their own incumbents from challengers seeking to oust them.

Yet it was rather telling that Howe later referred to that bruising window as a "piece of cake" compared to these past few months.