grimly

[ grim-lee ]

adverb

1. in a stern, sinister, fierce, or forbidding way:

   The mood has turned bleak here as the populace prepares grimly for a period of prolonged hardship and, they fear, war.

   For many years, art was forbidden in the country unless it was grimly, dully figurative or a gaudy mural glorifying the dictator’s regime.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grimly¹

First recorded before 1000; grim ( def ) + -ly ( def )

Example Sentences

Even the title of the most explicitly grim song, “Dis-Ease,” ostensibly about Covid-19 itself, is a pun on the idea of unease rather than a direct confrontation of illness.

From Vox

He reported from Cuba, where he interviewed the charismatic revolutionary Che Guevara and had a grim assessment of what the future would hold for the country under Fidel Castro.

From Washington Post

Even for museums that have reopened — including storied institutions such as the Met and the MoMA — the eeriness of empty galleries and exhibitions suggests a grim shift in museumgoers’ sense of safety in public spaces.

From Vox

On that latter metric, the Dakotas are in a particularly grim position.

From Washington Post

As if to underscore the difficult days ahead, the United States on Monday hit the latest grim milestone in the pandemic, surpassing 10 million confirmed cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, along with more than 238,000 deaths.

From Washington Post

Walmart is actually defying the logic embraced so grimly by Sears, Kmart, and millions of citizen-shoppers.

From The Daily Beast

“Girls who are abducted or recruited, many are ... assigned to officers,” Whitaker explained grimly.

From The Daily Beast

Savage Coast uses this technique to great effect, especially as the novel builds to its determined, grimly triumphant dénouement.

From The Daily Beast

Libertarians, of course, have grimly wished a pox on both their houses of Congress.

From The Daily Beast

Ross Douthat has a grimly ironic take on sequestration: Yes it's dumb, but so are we.

From The Daily Beast

He towered grimly above her, shaking a threatening finger in her very face.

From Project Gutenberg

"I don't care whether he has two thousand or five thousand; I am going to catch him and make him fight," said McNeil, grimly.

From Project Gutenberg

Belle smiled up at him and moved her check to the edge of her table as Darry rather grimly bade her good-night.

From Project Gutenberg

"Of course, no good woman wants to be Mrs. Whiskey Weston," said my friend grimly.

From Project Gutenberg

He kept on grimly, however, never deviating from his perspective, which was the swampy ground on the outer curve of the bend.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• brutally
• firmly
• powerfully