grudge

[ gruhj ]

See synonyms for: grudge grudging on Thesaurus.com

noun

a feeling of ill will or resentment: to hold a grudge against a former opponent.

adjective

done, arranged, etc., in order to settle a grudge: The middleweight fight was said to be a grudge match.

verb (used with object),grudged, grudg·ing.

to give or permit with reluctance; submit to unwillingly: The other team grudged us every point we scored.
to resent the good fortune of (another); begrudge: A lot of people grudge those billionaires all that money.

verb (used without object),grudged, grudg·ing.

Obsolete. to feel dissatisfaction or ill will.

Origin of grudge

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English grudgen, gruggen, variant of gruchen, from Old French gro(u)c(h)ier, from Germanic; compare Middle High German grogezen “to complain, cry out”

synonym study For grudge

1. Grudge, malice, spite refer to ill will held against another or others. A grudge is a feeling of resentment harbored because of some real or fancied wrong: to hold a grudge because of jealousy; She has a grudge against him. Malice is the state of mind that delights in doing harm, or seeing harm done, to others, whether expressing itself in an attempt seriously to injure or merely in sardonic humor: malice in watching someone's embarrassment; to tell lies about someone out of malice. Spite is petty, and often sudden, resentment that manifests itself usually in trifling retaliations: to reveal a secret out of spite.

Other words for grudge

1	bitterness, rancor, malevolence, enmity, hatred
4	envy

See synonyms for grudge on Thesaurus.com

Other words from grudge

grudgeless, adjective
grudger, noun
un·grudged, adjective

Words Nearby grudge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grudge in a sentence

It would be good for the girls to see, too, that you can respect their decision fully and still not carry their grudges into the adult friendships.
Carolyn Hax: What if your daughter and her BFF were really just BFs? | Carolyn Hax | February 25, 2021 | Washington Post
An eagerness to promote short-term grievances into long-term grudges is detrimental to family harmony.
Miss Manners: I feel robbed of my potluck wedding | Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin | January 14, 2021 | Washington Post
Ah, the holiday spirit — and its many ways to bear a grudge.
Miss Manners: Who calls whom? Who cares? Just pick up the phone. | Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, Jacobina Martin | December 26, 2020 | Washington Post
His stories did what many big-city columnists’ stories have done over the decades, grinding axes and nursing grudges.
A divisive Jets reporter, accused of bullying, loses his place on the beat | Ben Strauss | December 11, 2020 | Washington Post
I’m not going to sit here and carry a grudge just because people expect me to carry it.
Trent Williams says he won’t carry grudge into Sunday’s game against ex-Washington teammates | Les Carpenter | December 11, 2020 | Washington Post

We Micks only hold a grudge about such things for 300 years or so.
Up to a Point: A Free Scotland Would Be a Hilarious Disaster | P. J. O’Rourke | September 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
One nabob even seems to have commandeered the challenge to reignite an old grudge.
#IceBucketChallenge Wisdom From 'Jackass' Steve-O | Kevin Zawacki | August 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Of course, this theory makes sense as the answer to a question like, “Why is Solange holding a grudge against Jay Z?”
Solange Is Blue Ivy’s Mom and Other Crazy Conspiracy Theories | Kevin Fallon | May 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But I meant it less as you holding a grudge and more as… Of course I had to register the protest.
Steve Coogan Makes His Bid For Some Serious, Dramatic Roles | Andrew Romano | November 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Consider what The Ring, The grudge, Dark Water, Pulse, and a slew of other horror remakes have to add.
What Asian Film Remakes Like ‘Oldboy’ Get Wrong | Jimmy So | November 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
This would be an awful blow to us out here, would be a sign that Providence had some grudge against the Dardanelles.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
It was miserable economy indeed to grudge a reward of a few thousands to one who had made the State richer by millions.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington Macaulay
I grudge no trouble in the duty that Providence has forced upon me of superintending the lives of any of my girls.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3) | Charles James Wills
In any case, after the first hours of bitterness, Tchaikovsky bore no grudge against the faithless lady.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste Tchaikovsky
Now he had a new grudge against Louis de Valmont; to the sins of the master had been added those of the men.
God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis

British Dictionary definitions for grudge

grudge

/ (ɡrʌdʒ) /

noun

a persistent feeling of resentment, esp one due to some cause, such as an insult or injury
(modifier) planned or carried out in order to settle a grudge: a grudge fight

verb

(tr) to give or allow unwillingly
to feel resentful or envious about (someone else's success, possessions, etc)

Origin of grudge

C15: from Old French grouchier to grumble, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German grunnizōn to grunt

Derived forms of grudge

grudgeless, adjective
grudger, noun
grudging, adjective
grudgingly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with grudge

grudge

see bear a grudge; nurse a grudge.

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