grimace
Americannoun
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grimaces
plural
verb (used without object)
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grimaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
are grimacingprogressive
-
is grimacingprogressive
-
have been grimacingperfect progressive
-
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:
Hilton Hafford, 68, said he was all for his local friend Jackson, but added with a grimace: "My sisters and brother are on the other side."
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
After her first vault, she landed with a grimace and fell, clutching her injured ankle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
When Australia's Lucas Herbert missed a five-foot par putt on the last, there was a grimace from him and a groan from the galleries.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 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 grimace, even though he can't see it in the low light.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
Wizened and creased, with a hoop the size of a quarter dangling in his left ear, he relies on gestures—shrugs, grimaces, guffaws—to flesh out responses that lean terse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
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
Throughout baseball history, such collisions have been met mostly with grimaces and shrugs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2025
All of it was seemingly captured on TikTok - often in real-time - as consumer after consumer filmed themselves biting into the hardened treats, responding with a series of grimaces rather than delight.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2024
Elizabeth fiddles with a clump of hair that’s slipped out of her roller, grimaces at its obstinacy.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 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
He motioned to his bandaged legs and grimaced.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
A flurry in the eighth backed Hrgovic on to the ropes and had him in trouble, but Itauma was grimacing between exchanges and looking increasingly spent.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 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
“Tiny little mic,” she said, grimacing at a recent premiere.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2026
It’s something I’ve never seen except in movies—a man clutching himself and grimacing and swaying and breathing in little huffs and bearing his teeth and going “Nurse, nurse, please.”
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
