grimace
Americannoun
-
grimaces
plural
verb (used without object)
-
grimaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
grimaced,
past participle, past
-
grimacing
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
grimacesimple
-
grimacessimple
-
have grimacedperfect
-
has grimacedperfect
-
am grimacingprogressive
-
are grimacingprogressive
-
is grimacingprogressive
-
have been grimacingperfect progressive
-
has been grimacingperfect progressive
Past
-
grimacedsimple
-
had grimacedperfect
-
was grimacingprogressive
-
were grimacingprogressive
-
had been grimacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grimace
First recorded in 1645–55; from French, ultimately from Frankish grima (unrecorded) “mask” ( cf. grim, grime) + -azo, from Latin -āceus -aceous
Explanation
The grimace on her face when he asked her to the prom told him her answer was "no" before she said a word. A grimace is a facial expression that usually suggests disgust or pain, but sometimes comic exaggeration. Picture someone wrinkling his nose, squeezing his eyes shut, and twisting his mouth and you'll have a pretty solid mental image of a grimace. It can be a verb, as in "the class grimaced at the teacher's suggestion of a pop quiz." Or it words as a noun. "The class gave a grimace when the teacher suggested a pop quiz." Its forerunner was the 17th century Spanish grimazo, meaning caricature, and grima, meaning fright.
Vocabulary lists containing grimace
The Outsiders
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Hatchet
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"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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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:
When Australia's Lucas Herbert missed a five-foot par putt on the last, there was a grimace from him and a groan from the galleries.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
For Americans who grimace at the thought of “big government,” this distanced Social Security from public assistance or welfare.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
Three portable toilets in the west parking lot were so full that a woman repeatedly opened and closed each door with a grimace and then walked away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
"Some attendees, unable to tolerate the stench, grimace and cover their noses as they approach the flower."
From Salon ● May 27, 2025
Sigurd turned slowly, face curled into a furious grimace.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
He rolls his eyes at the town’s unquestioning belief in ghost stories and grimaces at all the visible evidence of how behind the times the town is.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
Take, for instance, the dapper child who grimaces squarely at the camera with a wad of cash in his hands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Instead, “Over Your Dead Body” delivers over-the-top fight sequences emphasizing grimaces and gross-out laughs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
Sargassum on the other hand, she grimaces, is something “we will never run out of”.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2024
Soheil rubs the back of his neck and grimaces.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Stephen Street, a 63-year-old longtime San Franciscan and Marina resident, saw the mock-ups for the development and grimaced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
He had to see his service game through before he could receive treatment and, after holding to love, grimaced through a massage before returning to play.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
The 77-year-old king grimaced in mock embarrassment as Trump turned to look at him, then waved as if to say carry on -- which Trump did.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
When I asked him how many times he’d used Calm, he grimaced.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2025
Ginny grimaced at Harry and Neville from behind Slughorn’s back.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Just last week, the actress shared a mirror selfie in which she could be seen showing off her growing baby bump, pulling up her black shirt to flaunt her stomach, while grimacing at the camera.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The Lakers were down by nine when Doncic departed, rubbing the back of his left thigh and grimacing in discomfort and clear frustration.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
Muchova, who began grimacing because of an issue with her left leg in the sixth game, called for the trainer and received medical attention off court.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025
Aaron Conner, 20, sits in his wheelchair grimacing in pain on Nov. 19, 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
Horace had seen Art this way before, chewing his Juicy Fruit and grimacing, rubbing his lips with the ball of his thumb and squinting while he thought things over.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
