gruff

[ gruhf ]

/ grʌf /

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See synonyms for: gruff / gruffness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, gruff·er, gruff·est.

low and harsh; hoarse: a gruff voice.

rough, brusque, or surly: a gruff manner.

OTHER WORDS FOR gruff

2 curt.

See synonyms for gruff on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR gruff

2 courteous.

See antonyms for gruff on Thesaurus.com

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Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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Origin of gruff

1525–35; <Middle Dutch grof coarse; cognate with German grob

OTHER WORDS FROM gruff

gruffish, adjectivegruffly, adverbgruffness, nounun·gruff, adjective

Words nearby gruff

gruel, grueling, gruelling, Gruenberg, gruesome, gruff, gruffy, grugru, gruiform, grum, grumble

How to use gruff in a sentence

One can understand why Walter is being played in the way he is—he is your average gruff academic, seemingly detached from the real world around him, and lost in his own head and memories.
‘The Visitor’ Makes a Bizarre Song and Dance About ICE Custody|Tim Teeman|November 5, 2021|The Daily Beast
Close, a gruff iconoclast and minimalist who created Photorealist portraits across five decades, died on Thursday in New York at 81.
How a TIME Art Critic Covered Chuck Close Across the Decades|Andrew R. Chow|August 20, 2021|Time
Lindell appears in those ads to hype his pillows with Billy Mays levels of gruff enthusiasm.
Mike Lindell’s ‘fraud’ allegations are even more ridiculous than you might think|Philip Bump|June 4, 2021|Washington Post
To the hordes who wanted time with Lincoln, the gruff and efficient Nicolay was the “grim enforcer.”
The Battle over President Lincoln’s Legacy|Tom LeClair|February 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We needed him to be wary, absorbed, and a little bit gruff, and he gamely complied, thereby furthering his own self-made legend.
Michael Musto: Lou Reed Made Me A Believer—In Transvestism, Prostitution, and Lou Reed|Michael Musto|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Bichir manages to be gruff but sensitive, honest yet mysterious, making Ruiz a mix of righteousness and compassion.
‘The Bridge’: FX’s New U.S.-Mexican Border Thriller|Jace Lacob|July 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Kevin Whately has been playing gruff, sensible detective Robbie Lewis on ‘Morse’ and ‘Lewis’ for 26 years.
Meet ‘Inspector Lewis’: Kevin Whately on ‘Morse,’ John Thaw, and the End of the Series|Jace Lacob|June 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He has played the gruff detective from 1987 to 2000 on Morse and from 2006 to the present on Inspector Lewis.
Meet ‘Inspector Lewis’: Kevin Whately on ‘Morse,’ John Thaw, and the End of the Series|Jace Lacob|June 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As they were passing a place where the bushes grew thickly by the side of the road, they received a gruff command to halt.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The fact was that Benny himself did not know why he liked this stranger who was so gruff at times and so pleasant at others.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
Even the gruff, grumpy, unsociable rhinoceros amiably allowed him to stroke its head with his trunk.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands|R.M. Ballantyne
He spoke angrily, and no longer in a low tone, but gruff and loud enough to be heard some distance away.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
"Salam Aliekoom," said a gruff voice, as a man with Peer Khan entered the tent.
Confessions of a Thug|Philip Meadows Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for gruff

gruff

/ (ɡrʌf) /

adjective

rough or surly in manner, speech, etca gruff reply

(of a voice, bark, etc) low and throaty

Derived forms of gruff

gruffish, adjectivegruffly, adverbgruffness, noun

Word Origin for gruff

C16: originally Scottish, from Dutch grof, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German girob; related to Old English hrēof, Lithuanian kraupùs

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

gruff

OTHER WORDS FOR gruff

OPPOSITES FOR gruff

Origin of gruff

OTHER WORDS FROM gruff

Words nearby gruff

Words related to gruff

How to use gruff in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gruff

Derived forms of gruff

Word Origin for gruff