variants
or gruelling
1
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
running a marathon is grueling
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in challenging
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
cutting diamonds can be grueling work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grueling
Crafting such small artworks is grueling work, requiring a complete lack of disturbance.
—
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Turbulence has defined a franchise that brought three Stanley Cups to the Windy City between 2010 and 2015, when the Blackhawks defeated the Ducks in a grueling, seven-game conference finals series.
—Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 28 Feb. 2025
Crosby played a grueling 19 minutes in Canada’s instant-classic overtime win against the United States on Thursday, traveled home to Pittsburgh on Friday, played 20 minutes in Saturday’s loss to Washington and then 23 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Rangers.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
Despite his many health challenges, Francis is a workaholic with a grueling schedule.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grueling
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Turbulence has defined a franchise that brought three Stanley Cups to the Windy City between 2010 and 2015, when the Blackhawks defeated the Ducks in a grueling, seven-game conference finals series.
—Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 28 Feb. 2025
Crosby played a grueling 19 minutes in Canada’s instant-classic overtime win against the United States on Thursday, traveled home to Pittsburgh on Friday, played 20 minutes in Saturday’s loss to Washington and then 23 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Rangers.
—Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
Despite his many health challenges, Francis is a workaholic with a grueling schedule.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grueling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grueling
Adjective
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But their happy romance is soon demolished when Jenny reappears in their lives, thrusting all three into a difficult and messy journey towards true accountability and adulthood.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
7 Mar. 2025
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These protein complexes are highly shape-shifting, making traditional imaging methods very difficult.—
Priyanka Naik,
The Conversation,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This can be a challenging variable to track, given that there were insufficient details about the victim's mental health status in approximately 30% of incidents, Rad said.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
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Builders are facing a challenging market with mixed economic signals.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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As agriculture became less demanding, the sector required fewer workers, enabling erstwhile farmers to work in a spectrum of other trades, including the high-technology industries of each generation, such as textiles, telegraphs, and telecommunications.—
Matthew J. Slaughter,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
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Find early investors in your circle of family and friends, since outside investors may be very demanding on equity and content and normally require at least a prototype to start.—
Martin Zwilling,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Selling your home can be an arduous process—don’t overcomplicate it by taking on renovations yourself.—
Aksha Mittapalli,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Mar. 2025
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It’s filled with both arduous requirements and also results in some necessary benefits, held within a history of violence and destruction of Indigenous communities.—
Lisa Deaderick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This all adds up to a tough investment outlook for any business looking at Ukraine’s mineral supply.—
Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
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How to Bet Timberwolves vs. Lakers Following up a game like Tuesday's would be tough for the Wolves under any circumstances, but with Edwards battling a calf injury and DiVincenzo potentially sidelined, beating the Lakers in L.A. will be that much more difficult.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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All in all, even a moderate approach was like 12-hours of rigorous cardio.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
1 Mar. 2025
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Every mortgage article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of mortgage products.—
Kelsey Neubauer,
CNBC,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Stay away from tall, isolated trees or other tall objects.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacramento Bee,
3 Mar. 2025
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Each up to 559 miles tall and thousands of miles wide, Earth's LLVPs were first discovered in the 1980s, when geologists found that seismic waves were travelling much slower through two regions in the lower mantle than expected.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Sandoval has received some pay bumps, including a temporary $10,000-a-year bonus for Hawaii special education teachers designed to alleviate shortages in that and other hard-to-staff areas.—
Alia Wong,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2023
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Whether those numbers are an overstatement, or possibly an understatement, is hard to say.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
13 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Grueling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grueling. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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