grim
Americanadjective
-
stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise.
grim determination; grim necessity.
- Synonyms:
- unyielding, harsh
- Antonyms:
- lenient
-
of a sinister or ghastly character.
a grim joke.
- Antonyms:
- attractive
-
having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air.
a grim man but a just one; a grim countenance.
- Antonyms:
- gentle
-
fierce, savage, or cruel.
War is a grim business.
-
unpleasant or repellant.
Scrubbing toilets is a grim task that no one likes doing.
adjective
-
stern; resolute
grim determination
-
harsh or formidable in manner or appearance
-
harshly ironic or sinister
grim laughter
-
cruel, severe, or ghastly
a grim accident
-
archaic fierce
a grim warrior
-
informal unpleasant; disagreeable
-
to hold very firmly or resolutely
Other Word Forms
- grimly adverb
- grimness noun
Etymology
Origin of grim
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German grimm, Old Norse grimmr
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mrs. Mallon, her hands on her thick hips, looked grim; she didn’t answer when I called, “Bless all here.”
From Literature
Last week the streets of Kyiv thronged with Western leaders marking the grim, fourth anniversary of the moment Russia launched its all-out war.
From BBC
I glanced over at Regan out of the corner of my eye and saw her grim expression as her mother looked from her to me and back again.
From Literature
But he said the bill’s fate appears grim.
From Los Angeles Times
The club has perfected the grim work of scoring from set pieces to the point where they have evolved into Arsenal’s most dangerous offensive situations.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
