grim

[ grim ]
See synonyms for: grimgrimmergrimmestgrimly on Thesaurus.com

adjective,grim·mer, grim·mest.
  1. stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise: grim determination; grim necessity.

  2. of a sinister or ghastly character: a grim joke.

  1. having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air: a grim man but a just one; a grim countenance.

  2. fierce, savage, or cruel: War is a grim business.

  3. unpleasant or repellant: Scrubbing toilets is a grim task that no one likes doing.

Origin of grim

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German grimm, Old Norse grimmr

Other 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

British Dictionary definitions for grim

grim

/ (ɡrɪm) /


adjectivegrimmer or grimmest
  1. stern; resolute: grim determination

  2. harsh or formidable in manner or appearance

  1. harshly ironic or sinister: grim laughter

  2. cruel, severe, or ghastly: a grim accident

  3. archaic, or poetic fierce: a grim warrior

  4. informal unpleasant; disagreeable

  5. hold on like grim death to hold very firmly or resolutely

Origin of grim

1
Old English grimm; related to Old Norse grimmr, Old High German grimm savage, Greek khremizein to neigh

Derived 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