gruffly
Americanadverb
-
in a low, harsh, gravelly voice; hoarsely.
The album is nothing but monster hit after monster hit, all played energetically and sung gruffly by these aging rockers.
-
in a rough, brusque, or surly manner.
“Hey, now, cut that out!” he said gruffly, looking at us with a stern frown.
Etymology
Origin of gruffly
First recorded in 1680–90; gruff ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
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.
“We’ll send out a press release later, Miss Kunene,” he said gruffly, then turned his back to her.
From Slate ● Dec. 24, 2022
A former shadow deputy governor during the war, he gruffly shares all his woes.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2022
He's friends with the boyfriend of one of his ex-wives, Angus Sampson as the gruffly charming investigator Cisco who roars around LA County on his motorcycle like a sensitive Meat Loaf.
From Salon ● May 21, 2022
He’s now 87 and “suffering terribly from TMB,” he says gruffly during a telephone interview.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2021
All were in good spirits save Doli, who hated riding horseback and gruffly declared he could go faster afoot.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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