Synonyms for gruelling
- adjective
- British English
Most common
All synonyms
Adjective
arduous, exhausting, back-breaking, hard, laborious, punishing, heavy, taxing, toilsome, burdensome, operose dated
Definitions
- adj. 1
Very difficult or taxing; exhausting; backbreaking.
Example sentences
- exhausting The run up the river can be exhausting for salmon.
- arduous She went through a long and arduous vocational course.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| gruelling | rising | |
| exhausting | rising | |
| arduous | steady | |
| laborious | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- hard1
- 5 letters
- heavy2
- 6 letters
- taxing2
- 7 letters
- arduous3, operose
- 8 letters
- toilsome
- 9 letters
- punishing3, laborious4
- 10 letters
- exhausting3, burdensome3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (heavy2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- éreintant