grizzle

¹ American  

[griz-uhl] / ˈgrɪz əl /

verb (used with or without object)

grizzled, grizzling

1. to make or become gray or partly gray.

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adjective

1. gray; grayish; devoid of hue.

noun

1. gray or partly gray hair.

2. a gray wig.

grizzle ² American  

[griz-uhl] / ˈgrɪz əl /

verb (used without object)

British.

grizzled, grizzling

1. to complain; whimper; whine.

2. to laugh or grin in mockery; sneer.

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grizzle ¹ British  

/ ˈɡrɪzəl /

verb

1. to make or become grey

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noun

1. a grey colour

2. grey or partly grey hair

3. a grey wig

grizzle ² British  

/ ˈɡrɪzəl /

verb

1. (esp of a child) to fret; whine

2. to sulk or grumble

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Other Word Forms

• grizzler noun

Etymology

Origin of grizzle¹

1350–1400; Middle English grisel < Old French, derivative of gris gray < Germanic; griseous

Origin of grizzle²

1740–50; origin uncertain; compare Middle High German grisgramen to gnash one's teeth, German Griesgram sourpuss

Example Sentences

His run-haul set him on the way to being one of the great leaders of the modern era, but he already looked a grizzled leader when taking the reins at 22.

From BBC

The older version of , now the grizzled Diamond burnt out by tour life and desperate not to duplicate the mistakes he made in his first two marriages, is played by Robert Westenberg.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's unfair to lift censorship suddenly," growls a grizzled newspaper editor into the phone, a copy of The Daily Pulp sprawled across his desk.

From BBC

On the same March 3 morning, the county asked for help identifying a wisp-thin elderly man with a grizzled beard and swollen black eye who’d been found in Monterey Park’s Edison Trails Park.

From Los Angeles Times

Before Baldwin even appears as a grizzled outlaw with a mission of mercy, “Rust” sets itself up — uncannily, it must be said — as a woeful story about an unintended shooting death.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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