Definition

Noun A thin, liquid food made by boiling a cereal (especially oatmeal or cornmeal) in water or milk. It is a simple, often bland, dish historically associated with basic sustenance, poverty, or feeding the infirm.

Usage

Gruel is typically served as a hot meal. It is characterized by its watery consistency compared to thicker porridge. Its primary use is to describe a simple, often unappetizing, form of nourishment. * The orphans in the story were given only a bowl of thin gruel for dinner. * When I was sick, my grandmother made me a plain oatmeal gruel. * In the 19th century, workhouse inmates survived on a meager diet of bread and gruel.

Advanced Usage

• "to get one's gruel" (idiom, archaic/informal): To receive one's deserved punishment or comeuppance; to be defeated soundly.
  • The villain finally got his gruel in the last chapter of the book.
• "to give someone his/her gruel" (idiom, archaic/informal): To administer a severe beating or punishment to someone; to defeat someone thoroughly.
  • The champion gave the challenger his gruel in the first round.

Variants and Related Words

• Gruelling (adjective, chiefly British English; grueling in American English): Extremely tiring and demanding. This adjective evolved from the idea of something that is as exhausting or punishing as the experience of surviving on mere gruel.
  • She completed the gruelling marathon.

Synonyms

• Porridge (though porridge is generally thicker)
• Broth (when referring to a very thin, liquid meal)
• Mush (especially US English for a soft, thick porridge)

Antonyms

• Feast
• Banquet
• Gourmet meal

Related Idioms

• "as thin as gruel": Used to describe something very weak, insubstantial, or diluted.
  • His excuse for being late was as thin as gruel.

Noun

1. a thin porridge (usually oatmeal or cornmeal)