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Synonyms

grim

American  
[grim] / grɪm /

adjective

grimmer, grimmest

  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 British  
/ 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. to hold very firmly or resolutely

"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

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.

It’s not all grim — home buyers finally have some leverage again in the real-estate market.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

But - without minimising the impact on those whose jobs are at risk - the situation today is still nowhere near as grim as it appeared to be last summer.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Times investigation uncovered the grim conditions faced by farmworkers despite the UFW, which had dramatically declined in size, and how the union had turned to political fundraising that did not benefit those working the fields.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

It has been a grim few weeks for software stocks.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

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 "Glitch" by Laura Martin

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.