grimace
Americannoun
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grimaces
plural
verb (used without object)
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grimaces,
present (3rd person singular)
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grimaced,
past participle, past
-
grimacing
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grimacesimple
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grimacessimple
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have grimacedperfect
-
has grimacedperfect
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am grimacingprogressive
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are grimacingprogressive
-
is grimacingprogressive
-
have been grimacingperfect progressive
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has been grimacingperfect progressive
Past
-
grimacedsimple
-
had grimacedperfect
-
was grimacingprogressive
-
were grimacingprogressive
-
had been grimacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grimace
First recorded in 1645–55; from French, ultimately from Frankish grima (unrecorded) “mask” ( cf. grim, grime) + -azo, from Latin -āceus -aceous
Explanation
The grimace on her face when he asked her to the prom told him her answer was "no" before she said a word. A grimace is a facial expression that usually suggests disgust or pain, but sometimes comic exaggeration. Picture someone wrinkling his nose, squeezing his eyes shut, and twisting his mouth and you'll have a pretty solid mental image of a grimace. It can be a verb, as in "the class grimaced at the teacher's suggestion of a pop quiz." Or it words as a noun. "The class gave a grimace when the teacher suggested a pop quiz." Its forerunner was the 17th century Spanish grimazo, meaning caricature, and grima, meaning fright.
Vocabulary lists containing grimace
The Outsiders
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Hatchet
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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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.
See Examples For:
When he doesn’t like a lawyer’s answer—or when he disagrees with a comment from one of the court’s liberal justices—he has been known to grimace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
For Americans who grimace at the thought of “big government,” this distanced Social Security from public assistance or welfare.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
“I think that smile, it wasn’t like a — it was like an ‘ooh’, you know, like, one of those,” Cunningham said, making a grimace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
"Some attendees, unable to tolerate the stench, grimace and cover their noses as they approach the flower."
From Salon ● May 27, 2025
My mom’s face pulled into a stiff grimace, as if she’d just stubbed her toe or something, but she shook her head.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
He rolls his eyes at the town’s unquestioning belief in ghost stories and grimaces at all the visible evidence of how behind the times the town is.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
Take, for instance, the dapper child who grimaces squarely at the camera with a wad of cash in his hands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
“There was a push for us to stop having strings in our music,” grimaces Chatto.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2024
The nearly photorealistic face of Senua, the unconventional hero of this 10th-century revenge tale, as she grimaces with every sinew taut, her veins bulging.
From New York Times ● May 20, 2024
The grimaces didn't look at all alarming in Archenland; indeed Lucy only thought Rabadash was going to be sick.
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
Stephen Street, a 63-year-old longtime San Franciscan and Marina resident, saw the mock-ups for the development and grimaced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The 77-year-old king grimaced in mock embarrassment as Trump turned to look at him, then waved as if to say carry on -- which Trump did.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
But that didn’t stop Team USA from trying out a stand-up-and-salute shtick as a collection of America’s finest players grimaced their way through the recent World Baseball Classic.
From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2026
I stood as far back as I could in the snug compartment and grimaced my way through it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
I sipped my soup with the hairs in it because Mandy had said to, even though I grimaced at the soup and at Mandy’s retreating back.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
The Swiss 22-year-old got back to her feet a moment later and finished the race in last place, grimacing and clutching her chest.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Just last week, the actress shared a mirror selfie in which she could be seen showing off her growing baby bump, pulling up her black shirt to flaunt her stomach, while grimacing at the camera.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Lakers were down by nine when Doncic departed, rubbing the back of his left thigh and grimacing in discomfort and clear frustration.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
Aaron Conner, 20, sits in his wheelchair grimacing in pain on Nov. 19, 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
Ivan stopped grimacing and gingerly tested his arm’s range of motion.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
