different between gruelling vs grievous

English

Alternative forms

• grueling

Etymology

From present particle of gruel (“to exhaust, punish”), from gruel (noun).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?????.l??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /???u.l??/, /???u.?l.??/

Adjective

gruelling (comparative more gruelling, superlative most gruelling)

1. So difficult or taxing as to make one exhausted; backbreaking.

Synonyms

• (so difficult or taxing as to make one exhausted): backbreaking, exhausting

Translations

Noun

gruelling (plural gruellings)

1. (racing) A race in which the animal being raced finishes in a state of physical exhaustion.
2. A gruelling ordeal.

English

Alternative forms

• greuous (obsolete)
• grievious, grevious (less common / nonstandard outside dialects)

Etymology

From grieve, from Middle English greven, from Old French grever, from Latin grav? (“I burden”). Developed in the 13th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??i?.v?s/
• Rhymes: -i?v?s
• (nonstandard outside dialects) IPA^(key): /??i?.vi?.?s/ (often used in conjunction with the spelling grievious)

Adjective

grievous (comparative more grievous, superlative most grievous)

1. Causing grief, pain or sorrow.
   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     As for the captain, his wounds were grievous indeed but not dangerous.

2. Serious, grave, dire or dangerous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:lamentable

Translations

Anagrams

• grevious