grimacing

[ grim-uhs-ing, gri-mey-sing ]

adjective

making or causing a facial expression, often ugly or contorted, that indicates disapproval, pain, disgust, etc.: To the grimacing dissatisfaction of coffee drinkers, pranksters had put salt in the sugar bowl.

noun

the act of making a facial expression that indicates disapproval, pain, disgust, etc.: Incoming patients can be made anxious by the grimacing of other patients waiting to be seen.

Origin of grimacing

First recorded in 1740–50; grimace + -ing² for the adjective; grimace + -ing¹ for the noun

Fields missed one play, then sandwiched a dart to the end zone between grimaces of pain.
Justin Fields outduels Trevor Lawrence as Ohio State upsets Clemson in playoff semifinal | Emily Giambalvo, Kareem Copeland | January 2, 2021 | Washington Post
Winston Ross on the spooky case that has authorities grimacing.
Canada’s Severed-Feet Mystery | Winston Ross | September 4, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
His light found a squat skeleton sitting there grimacing at him.
Hunters Out of Space | Joseph Everidge Kelleam
Close upon their heels press forward a chattering grimacing group from Naples.
The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the first | Count Carlo Gozzi
Nick passed on and quickly paused again; this time, his mother discerned, before the marble image of a strange grimacing woman.
The Tragic Muse | Henry James

grimacing, he pressed the edges of the wound together and willed that the bleeding stop.
The Sensitive Man | Poul William Anderson
Then, his work finished, he threw the mattock into the brush and set out again, grimacing disgustedly and scratching himself.
Flight From Tomorrow | Henry Beam Piper

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