| Main Entry: | grueling |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult, taxing |
Synonyms: |
arduous, backbreaking, brutal, chastening, crushing, demanding, excruciating, exhausting, fatiguing, fierce, grinding, hairy*, hard, harsh, heavy*, laborious, punishing, racking, severe, stiff, strenuous, tiring, torturous, trying |
| Notes: | grueling means characterized by physical effort to the point of exhaustion; gruesome means shockingly repellent, inspiring horror |
Antonyms: |
easy, facile |
| Main Entry: | arduous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult, hard to endure |
Synonyms: |
backbreaking, burdensome, exhausting, fatiguing, formidable, grueling, harsh, heavy, labored, laborious, murder, no picnic, onerous, painful, punishing, rigorous, rough, severe, strenuous, taxing, tiring, toilsome, tough, troublesome, trying, uphill |
Antonyms: |
easy, facile, motivating |
| Main Entry: | backbreaking |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | strenuous |
Synonyms: |
arduous, exhausting, grueling, hard, laborious, punishing, taxing, toilsome, wearisome |
| Main Entry: | excruciating |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | torturous, painful |
Synonyms: |
acute, agonizing, burning, chastening, consuming, exquisite, extreme, grueling, harrowing, insufferable, intense, piercing, punishing, racking, rending, searing, severe, sharp, shooting, stabbing, tearing, tormenting, torturesome, torturing, unbearable, unendurable, violent |
Antonyms: |
bearable, endurable, helpful, pleasant, pleasing, soothing |
| Main Entry: | onerous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult; requiring hard labor |
Synonyms: |
arduous, austere, backbreaking, burdensome, crushing, cumbersome, demanding, difficult, distressing, embittering, exacting, excessive, exhausting, exigent, fatiguing, formidable, galling, grave, grinding, grueling, hard*, harsh, headache, heavy*, intolerable, irksome, laborious, merciless, oppressive, overpowering, overtaxing, painful, plodding, ponderous, pressing, responsible, rigorous, serious, severe, strenuous, taxing, tiresome, tiring, toilsome, troublesome, vexatious, weighty |
Antonyms: |
common, easy, light, trivial |
| Main Entry: | uphill |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult, laborious |
Synonyms: |
arduous, effortful, exhausting, grueling, hard, labored, operose, punishing, rugged, strenuous, taxing, toilsome, tough, wearisome |
Antonyms: |
downhill, easy, facile |
| Main Entry: | punishing |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | tough |
Synonyms: |
brutal, grueling, hard, punitive |
Antonyms: |
easy, effortless |