grimace
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
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.
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 know where it is,” he said through the grimace.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026
"Some attendees, unable to tolerate the stench, grimace and cover their noses as they approach the flower."
From Salon • May 27, 2025
Actually, she reclined for the interview, slipping off her heels and stretching out on a leather chaise under a waffle-weave blanket that she eventually cast aside with a grimace.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2024
The boy-ogre bared his teeth at me with his lips curled up, in the hideous grimace the Humans call a smile.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
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.
