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grudge

[gruhj]
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noun
  1. a feeling of ill will or resentment: to hold a grudge against a former opponent.
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adjective
  1. done, arranged, etc., in order to settle a grudge: The middleweight fight was said to be a grudge match.
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verb (used with object), grudged, grudg·ing.
  1. to give or permit with reluctance; submit to unwillingly: The other team grudged us every point we scored.
  2. to resent the good fortune of (another); begrudge.
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verb (used without object), grudged, grudg·ing.
  1. Obsolete. to feel dissatisfaction or ill will.
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Origin of grudge

1400–50; late Middle English grudgen, gruggen, variant of gruchen < Old French gro(u)c(h)ier < Germanic; compare Middle High German grogezen to complain, cry out
Related formsgrudge·less, adjectivegrudg·er, nounun·grudged, adjective

Synonyms

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1. bitterness, rancor, malevolence, enmity, hatred. 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. 4. envy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

grievanceenmitybitternessresentmentmaliceanimusantipathyanimosityrancorhatredinjusticemalignancyspitepiquemalevolencespleenvenomspitefulnessmaliciousnessaversion

Examples from the Web for grudge

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • And in that day we must not grudge children their share of it.

  • It was you who had the grudge, you snake-souled rogue, and it was you who gave the false witness.

    Fair Margaret

    H. Rider Haggard

  • The young man I speak of does not want friends, who will not grudge the money.

    Night and Morning, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • I bore her no grudge—who could bear soft-eyed, laughing, yet tragic Biddy a grudge?

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

  • Girls, don't ever grudge the time you spend in learning to cook nicely.

    The Green Satin Gown

    Laura E. Richards

British Dictionary definitions for grudge

grudge

noun
  1. a persistent feeling of resentment, esp one due to some cause, such as an insult or injury
  2. (modifier) planned or carried out in order to settle a grudgea grudge fight
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verb
  1. (tr) to give or allow unwillingly
  2. to feel resentful or envious about (someone else's success, possessions, etc)
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Derived Formsgrudgeless, adjectivegrudger, noungrudging, adjectivegrudgingly, adverb

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for grudge

v.

mid-15c., "to murmur, complain," variant of grutch. Meaning "to begrudge" is c.1500. Related: Grudged; grudges; grudging; grudgingly. The noun is mid-15c., from the verb.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with grudge

grudge

see bear a grudge; nurse a grudge.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.