grim
stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise: grim determination; grim necessity.
of a sinister or ghastly character: a grim joke.
having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air: a grim man but a just one; a grim countenance.
fierce, savage, or cruel: War is a grim business.
unpleasant or repellant: Scrubbing toilets is a grim task that no one likes doing.
Origin of grim
1Other words for grim
Opposites for grim
Other words from grim
- grim·ly, adverb
- grim·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use grim in a sentence
Prudence suggests that merchants should brace for an even grimmer spring 2021 than the academic calendars suggest.
The pandemic is damaging the economic ecosystems around universities | Geoffrey Colvin | October 30, 2020 | FortuneThree out of 10 hotel employees in the country remain furloughed or laid off, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, putting hotel workers in the grim company of airline and restaurant employees.
If this week’s grim third-quarter earnings reports from both Visa and Mastercard are anything to go by — as reported by the Financial Times — the future isn’t bright.
As Q4 gathers pace, the ad industry braces for long-lasting economic trauma | Seb Joseph | October 30, 2020 | DigidayThe historical foundation of “The Cold Millions” offers a grim lesson in the endless struggle for better working conditions.
‘The Cold Millions,’ Jess Walter’s celebration of forgotten heroes, is one of the most captivating novels of the year | Ron Charles | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostAs grim as things are in Wisconsin today, the truth is that Covid-19 isn’t unstoppable.
How pandemic fatigue and polarization led to Wisconsin’s massive Covid-19 outbreak | German Lopez | October 23, 2020 | Vox
The whole process could have been a joyful PR interlude, replacing the current grind of grimness.
This longing for grimness actually has its own portmanteau word, ostalgie.
Hilda stabbed a great crisp fallen teak leaf with her parasol, and spent the grimness of this in twirling it.
Hilda | Sarah Jeanette DuncanPlease observe Wiseman and Wishart; for incidental grimness, they strike me as in it.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25) | Robert Louis StevensonNo doubt this grimness of Crozier was due to domestic trouble and not wholly to his own presence.
You Never Know Your Luck, Complete | Gilbert Parker"With our last cent," came the answer of the other man, and in the voice was grimness and enthusiasm.
The White Desert | Courtney Ryley CooperBut even from its grimness emanated the same faint, mysterious odor of cinnamon roses that lurked in the accompanying letter.
Molly Make-Believe | Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
British Dictionary definitions for grim
/ (ɡrɪm) /
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, or poetic fierce: a grim warrior
informal unpleasant; disagreeable
hold on like grim death to hold very firmly or resolutely
Origin of grim
1Derived forms of grim
- grimly, adverb
- grimness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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