grueling

[groo-uh-ling, groo-ling] / ˈgru ə lɪŋ, ˈgru lɪŋ /

ADJECTIVE

difficult, taxing

Synonyms

STRONGEST

arduous backbreaking brutal demanding excruciating exhausting fierce laborious punishing strenuous tiring torturous trying

WEAK

chastening crushing fatiguing grinding hairy hard harsh heavy racking severe stiff

Antonyms

STRONGEST

easy effortless facile gentle kind trivial

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After she emerged from a grueling two-week stint in the hospital, I told her that she looked beautiful despite everything.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Aviation fundamentally compressed space and time, turning grueling ocean and train voyages into routine daytime flights.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Enacting change at the federal level has been a grueling process.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

But the contract also secured a 40-hour week with flex time off for extra hours, addressing long-standing complaints about grueling schedules.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

Packed hurriedly in those last grueling weeks in Surinam, much of this material had been jumbled together, and some did not survive the voyage intact.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

Vocabulary lists containing grueling

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