grim
Americanadjective
-
stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise.
grim determination; grim necessity.
- Synonyms:
- unyielding, harsh
- Antonyms:
- lenient
-
of a sinister or ghastly character.
a grim joke.
- Antonyms:
- attractive
-
having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air.
a grim man but a just one; a grim countenance.
- Antonyms:
- gentle
-
fierce, savage, or cruel.
War is a grim business.
-
unpleasant or repellant.
Scrubbing toilets is a grim task that no one likes doing.
adjective
-
stern; resolute
grim determination
-
harsh or formidable in manner or appearance
-
harshly ironic or sinister
grim laughter
-
cruel, severe, or ghastly
a grim accident
-
archaic fierce
a grim warrior
-
informal unpleasant; disagreeable
-
to hold very firmly or resolutely
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grim
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German grimm, Old Norse grimmr
Explanation
Things that are gloomy, stark, ghastly, and somber are grim. Sunshine, puppies, and rainbows are not grim; zombies, reapers, and mummies are grim. Less scary things like drizzly, foggy days can also be called grim. Two famous uses of the adjective grim are the Grim Reaper and Grimm's Fairy Tales. Mr. Reaper shows up in movies and books wearing a long, hooded black cape and carrying a scythe, or long-handled blade used, in less grim circumstances, for mowing grass and reaping grain: he represents death. The real-life German brothers wrote some bone-chilling tales under their own name, Grimm, meaning "cruel, fierce," which is related to the English word grim. Modern grim things include crime-drama images of dead bodies and characters in horror movies.
Vocabulary lists containing grim
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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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:
The numbers from this year’s homelessness count were not as grim in other parts of the region.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
One former senior minister told me Reeves had "spent a lot of time and energy painting a picture of her grim inheritance in the expectation things would brighten up quickly and she could claim credit".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Early in the film, De Palma establishes a base of references to grim incidents in American political history, from which he can work outward.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
"Current forecast tracks continue to indicate a grim outlook for the Marianas," the US National Weather Service warned.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Robert McNamara agreed that the situation was grim, the options limited.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Reports David has heard from clients in Cameroon are even grimmer: the IOM has refused to facilitate medical care for some detainees, the lawyer said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
In earlier decades, a grimmer economic mood usually meant lower inflation-adjusted spending, while shopping picked up when consumers reported more optimism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Disney’s latest animated film, “Zootopia 2,” a sequel to its 2016 box-office juggernaut, isn’t exactly an adult political drama, though the stakes certainly feel grimmer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
But as bad as the disruptions and damage to public schools will be, Mahmoud will be infamous for grimmer reasons.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2025
‘A struggle somewhat grimmer for my part than the battle of the Hornburg,’ answered Aragorn.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
He volunteered at the very start and has survived some of the grimmest battles.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Despite the market’s record-setting pace, anxiety about the war in Iran has left Americans in the grimmest economic mood on record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Behind the scenes, his producers eagerly exploited the grimmest episodes of vulnerable people’s lives, never disabusing them of the false assumption that appearing on “Springer” would somehow help them.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
It could be argued that the grimmest portrayals of nuclear war — the opposite of what “Fallout” does — don’t serve anyone better than downplaying the risks and the aftermath of apocalypse.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024
Penelope smiled, then beamed, then laughed aloud, for even the grimmest Giddy-Yap, Rainbow! book had joy to spare.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
