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Meaning & use

gruel

noun·Advanced

Last updated

UK/ˈɡruːəl/
US/ˈɡruːəl/

Meaning

  1. noununcountable

    A thin, watery porridge made by boiling oats or other grain in water or milk.

    Grammar: Uncountable; used without 'a' or a plural form.

    Patterns

    • a bowl of gruel
    • eat gruel

    The orphans were given only a bowl of gruel each day.

    In the story, the poor family survived on bread and gruel.

    She cooked a simple gruel for the sick child.

Common combinations

a bowl of gruel
He ate a bowl of gruel for breakfast.
thin gruel
The prisoners were fed thin gruel twice a day.
oatmeal gruel
Oatmeal gruel is easy to digest.
live on gruel
Many peasants had to live on gruel during the famine.

Synonyms and how they differ

porridge
Thicker and more solid; 'gruel' is thinner and more watery.
mush
A soft, thick mixture; often used for food for animals or babies.
broth
A thin soup made from meat or vegetables, not grain.

Word family

gruelling adjective
Extremely tiring and demanding; not related in meaning but shares the root.

Commonly confused: gruel or gruel?

gruel vs gruel

Sometimes confused with 'gruelling' (exhausting), but 'gruel' is a food.

Practice

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