i Register
In some senses, gruel is marked as obsolete, slang, US, British. Watch for register when choosing this word.
gruel
/ˈɡɹuːəl/
noun 5verb 3
Collocations
4ADJ.
brown, dirty, easy, enough, live, longer, nice, smooth
VERB + GRUEL
bring, brought, made, want
PREP.
on
ADV.
also
Definitions
noun
1
A thin, watery porridge, formerly eaten primarily by the poor and the ill.
[…]her own cook at South End, a young woman hired for the time, who never had been able to understand what she meant by a basin of nice smooth gruel, thin, but not too thin.
[…]Father had one of his awful colds, so Dora persuaded him not to go to London, but to stay cosy and warm in the study, and she made him some gruel. She makes it better than Eliza does; Eliza's gruel is all little lumps, and when you suck them it is dry oatmeal inside.
2
Punishment.
3
Something that lacks substance.
thin gruel
4
Sentimental poetry.
5
Semen.
verb
1
To exhaust, use up, disable.
2
To punish.
3
Ejaculate.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
[…]her own cook at South End, a young woman hired for the time, who never had been able to understand what she meant by a basin of nice smooth gruel, thin, but not too thin.
Wiktionary02
[…]Father had one of his awful colds, so Dora persuaded him not to go to London, but to stay cosy and warm in the study, and she made him some gruel. She makes it better than Eliza does; Eliza's gruel
Wiktionary03
“It’s not that bad,” said Tiger defensively. “The foundlings rarely have to share blankets these days, and the gruel no longer has a consistency thinner than water.
Wiktionary04
Rice gruel is easy to digest.
Tatoeba · #6510705
When he was young, he was so poor that he virtually had to live on gruel.
Tatoeba · #26571806
I also brought some gruel I made. It just needs warming up.
Tatoeba · #328109Usage Notes
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