grizzle
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
adjective
noun
-
gray or partly gray hair.
-
a gray wig.
verb (used without object)
-
to complain; whimper; whine.
-
to laugh or grin in mockery; sneer.
verb
noun
-
a grey colour
-
grey or partly grey hair
-
a grey wig
verb
-
(esp of a child) to fret; whine
-
to sulk or grumble
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of grizzle1
1350–1400; Middle English grisel < Old French, derivative of gris gray < Germanic; see griseous
Origin of grizzle2
1740–50; origin uncertain; compare Middle High German grisgramen to gnash one's teeth, German Griesgram sourpuss
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:
There’s spots of gray grizzle visible on his chin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2023
Aside from his charismatic grizzle, the role was educational.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2017
With “Hands of Stone,” Robert De Niro officially enters his Burgess Meredith-in-“Rocky” phase, bringing the ringside grizzle and rumpled gravitas by the pound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2016
Like a middle-aged heartthrob, Koko has a graceful grey grizzle around the mouth now, and Woss says his leading man will not take on any more films.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 9, 2012
I remember running with her towards the fence, the baby starting to wake and to grizzle a little.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
In one scene, a Minion plays a detective character named “Humphrey,” a nod to Humphrey Bogart, grizzled hero of “The Big Sleep” and “The Maltese Falcon.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Fast facts: A grizzled version of the title character is played by Hugh Jackman in this drama, which reimagines the altruistic thief as an aging man grappling with his violent past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Matt Roush says, “I hope voters give grizzled veteran Sam Elliott his due for a memorable ‘Landman’ arc.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
"As a crime viewer, I've had enough of troubled, grizzled detectives in the wilderness battling their demons," he said.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
Mostly, too, these were middle-aged to old people, with grizzled faces, many teeth missing, and sly—occasionally almost giggling—smiles.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
No matter that the Aberdonian shot a final-day 67 when the rest of the field were moaning and grizzling like bairns about the long grass.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 1, 2012
Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA Call it grumbling, griping, grizzling, grouching – take your pick.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 20, 2012
Urbane, well-built, his face framed with grizzling hair, he is famed for two characteristics-his impeccable courtesy, his freedom from mannerism.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then my three younger brothers set up their own grizzling chorus about how unfair it was that they didn’t get paid for anything.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
“I was bouncing her up and down and she was still grizzling, so I walked outside with her.”
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
