adjective
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rough or surly in manner, speech, etc
a gruff reply
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(of a voice, bark, etc) low and throaty
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of gruff
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle Dutch grof “coarse”; cognate with German grob
Explanation
Gruff is an abrupt or forbidding tone. It's the kind of short, brusque response you'd give a telemarketer who called you in the middle of dinner — right before you hung up. Gruff is the perfect adjective to describe a crotchety old man who rarely leaves his house and yells at any children who dare to cross his lawn. You can almost imagine the rough tone of his voice as he points his cane at those pesky "trespassers," his deep, terrifying bark, causing all the children on his lawn to immediately scatter.
Vocabulary lists containing gruff
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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Auggie & Me
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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:
She described Winstone as a "lovely man" who was "exactly the same in character as in real life with his proper gruff East End accent".
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
For someone whose notoriety has twice become inseparable from who he’s married to, Pitt’s choice to play gruff loners feels noticeably calculated, keeping an arm’s distance between his work and the audience.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
His approach was unique; he took the grandeur and majesty of the Duke Ellington Orchestra sax section, updated that sound, and infused it with bluesy grit and a gruff, avant-garde crankiness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Initially introduced as a gruff wild man without much regard for the law, Davenport eventually settled into a loyal, fun-loving “honorary Duke” beloved by fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
He’d offer up a gruff apology and they’d do what they’d always done—adapt.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
“There was a handful of people here for something yesterday,” says the voice, which seems to be getting gruffer.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 7, 2018
Pos and Dave sound older and gruffer, as they should, but their trademark wit and verbal dexterity are still in prime form.
From Slate ● Aug. 30, 2016
Tanto is louder, Oz is gruffer, Rone is an old friend of Jack's from past tours of duty.
From The Verge ● Jan. 14, 2016
What light can Billy Joel shed on “Maybe I’m Amazed” or “Live and Let Die” when the only difference between Joel and McCartney’s performances is Joel’s slightly gruffer voice?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2014
It comes out gruffer than I intend on account of my spanking new voice.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Possessing one of the sharpest minds in the business, Prince was one of its gruffest truth-tellers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2019
Here bringing heart to what could be a harsh cad, in even his his gruffest, roughest performances, Finney always found an emotional center that allowed audiences in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2019
“Loving you is complicated,” he announces, in his gruffest tone: the “you” is himself, hip-hop, and his own success.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 18, 2015
Mr. Bradlee looked up from his omnipresent crossword puzzle, “and in his gruffest voice,” Pincus recalled, “he said, ‘You ought to be paying me for all the fun you’re having.’ ”
From Washington Post
The men, as we said before, having been sailors, seemed to shout with the memory of the boatswain strong upon them, for their tones were pitched in the deepest and gruffest bass-key.
From Fighting the Flames by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
