What does gruelling mean?
Gruelling means extremely tiring, difficult, or demanding, especially in circumstances that require sustained physical or mental effort. The word is often applied to training, working conditions, journeys, examinations, negotiations, and other activities that place heavy demands on a person or group. Its force comes from the idea of being worn down to the point of exhaustion, so it is stronger and more evocative than simply saying that something is tiring. A gruelling schedule leaves little time for rest; gruelling training pushes participants beyond their usual limits; and gruelling conditions make even ordinary tasks exceptionally difficult. The term is common in British English, while American English generally spells it grueling. It can apply literally to strenuous physical activity and figuratively to prolonged mental strain, although physical endurance remains a frequent association. Gr uelling is especially useful when the difficulty or severity of an experience deserves emphasis rather than being treated as a minor inconvenience.
adjectiveExtremely tiring; involving great effort and causing exhaustion. It is especially used for demanding activities, conditions, or schedules.
- Extremely tiring or demanding, especially because it requires sustained physical or mental effort.
"The athletes underwent a gruelling six-week training programme before the championship."
"After a gruelling morning of negotiations, the minister announced an agreement."
"The climbers faced gruelling weather throughout their ascent."
Gruelling began with the idea of reducing someone to gruel—thin, meager food—before it came to mean any ordeal that leaves you exhausted.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does gruelling come from?
Gruelling was formed from gruel with the suffix -ing, extending the word's older associations with thin, meager food and with wearing someone down. Gruel entered Middle English from Old French and ultimately derives from Latin gruellum, a diminutive related to grua, the Latin word for groats. The development of gruelling reflects a figurative sense of reducing a person to exhausted weakness.
Related word forms
How gruelling is actually used
Gruelling is strongly idiomatic and commonly conveys prolonged hardship rather than ordinary tiredness. It is traditionally a British spelling; American English usually uses grueling.
Easily confused with gruelling
Grueling is the American spelling of gruelling; the two forms have the same meaning and differ only in spelling.