begrudgingly
Americanadverb
-
with or despite feelings of resentment or envy.
With virtually no advertising, he is swamped with work—a fact I begrudgingly admit because he's too busy to take me anywhere!
-
reluctantly; unwillingly.
I've eaten calf liver begrudgingly, but ultimately I don't like sitting down to a big slab of organ meat.
Etymology
Origin of begrudgingly
Compare meaning
How does begrudgingly compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you do something even though you really don't want to, you do it begrudgingly. If you hate to admit that your brother's cookies came out better than yours, you'll only do it begrudgingly. To act begrudgingly is to begrudge, a word that's rooted in the Middle English grucchen, "to find fault with or be angry." So when you find yourself grumbling about something (but doing it anyway), you're doing it begrudgingly. If you dislike asparagus, you're only going to eat it begrudgingly, and if you're bitterly jealous of your friend's award, you'll applaud her win begrudgingly.
Vocabulary lists containing begrudgingly
One Crazy Summer
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"First Love Language" by Stefany Valentine, Broken Hearts and Broken Homes–A Different Love Language
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Kwame Crashes the Underworld
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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.
Begrudgingly, you half-buy into one of the script’s more ludicrous set-ups, that Lightning & Thunder will play their biggest show on the night Diamond is headlining at another venue in town.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
Begrudgingly I give Trump credit for being a consummate showman.
From Salon • Jul. 17, 2024
Begrudgingly, I pad pajama-clad to the windows, where I peel back the curtains and stare directly into the dull orange face of a sullen, smoke-soaked sun.
From Slate • Sep. 18, 2023
Begrudgingly, I ate my coleslaw, at least until I was old enough to exercise my American right to not add it to my plate at all.
From Washington Post • Jun. 25, 2020
Begrudgingly he permitted a halt while they cooked and ate, and then on again through the wilderness of trees and vines and underbrush.
From Son of Tarzan by Burroughs, Edgar Rice
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.
