grim

[ grim ]

adjective

, grim·mer, grim·mest.

1. stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise:

   grim determination; grim necessity.

   Synonyms: unyielding, harsh

   Antonyms: lenient

2. of a sinister or ghastly character:

   a grim joke.

   Synonyms: dreadful, hideous, gruesome, grisly, horrid, appalling, dire, horrible, frightful

   Antonyms: attractive

3. having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air:

   a grim man but a just one; a grim countenance.

   Synonyms: hard, stern, severe

   Antonyms: gentle

4. fierce, savage, or cruel:

   War is a grim business.

   Synonyms: ruthless, ferocious

5. unpleasant or repellant:

   Scrubbing toilets is a grim task that no one likes doing.

grim

/ ɡrɪm /

adjective

1. stern; resolute

   grim determination

2. harsh or formidable in manner or appearance
3. harshly ironic or sinister

   grim laughter

4. cruel, severe, or ghastly

   a grim accident

5. archaic.
   fierce

   a grim warrior

6. informal.
   unpleasant; disagreeable
7. hold on like grim death
   to hold very firmly or resolutely

Derived Forms

• ˈgrimly, adverb
• ˈgrimness, noun

Other Words From

• grim·ly adverb
• grim·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of grim¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German grimm, Old Norse grimmr

Word History and Origins

Origin of grim¹

Old English grimm; related to Old Norse grimmr, Old High German grimm savage, Greek khremizein to neigh

Example Sentences

The latest growth figures made pretty grim reading too, with the UK economy barely growing between July and September.

From BBC

Disturbing, to be sure, and a grim sign of the times.

From Los Angeles Times

But Central Valley residents had a particularly grim view of the state’s economic outlook, with more than two-thirds of respondents saying they foresaw bad times ahead in the next year.

From Los Angeles Times

But, as in “Men,” Kinnear’s appearance of placidity makes his characters’ nefarious tendencies even more chilling; his ability to draw his mouth into a grim implacable line is second to none.

From Los Angeles Times

Officers erected a cordon and then began the grim task of attending to the dead.

From BBC

Related Words

• dogged
• ferocious
• fierce
• merciless
• relentless
• resolute
• ruthless
• unrelenting