grimly

American  

[grim-lee] / ˈgrɪm li /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of grimly

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grimly

Another insider joked grimly: "It's been a really hard week – stronger words could be used."

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

It’s an agonizing loss that’s getting grimly compared with Atlanta’s 28-3 Super Bowl collapse to the Patriots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Holding a pen like a gun grimly acknowledges Irish history, opposition to British rule as well as the sectarian Troubles between Protestants and Catholics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Which, upon consideration of his Epstein-related difficulties, is grimly appropriate.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2025

Quoth Bono grimly, “Glorious, glorious. That is a pretty sentiment.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• brutally
• firmly
• powerfully