grimace
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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:
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
Charles, who responded with a playful grimace, quipped: "Yes well, all that's left of him anyway."
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2025
"Some attendees, unable to tolerate the stench, grimace and cover their noses as they approach the flower."
From Salon ● May 27, 2025
It’s done with a slight grimace as they suck air through their teeth, which makes an interesting hiss.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Wizened and creased, with a hoop the size of a quarter dangling in his left ear, he relies on gestures—shrugs, grimaces, guffaws—to flesh out responses that lean terse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
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
Throughout baseball history, such collisions have been met mostly with grimaces and shrugs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2025
Sargassum on the other hand, she grimaces, is something “we will never run out of”.
From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2024
In every store their smiles turned to grimaces when they saw I meant not to buy but to cash a check.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
He grimaced, "I'm your host for this historic vibe shift of a day."
From Salon ● Jan. 21, 2025
In a hospital in central Damascus, we were introduced to 43-year-old Imad Jamal, who grimaced in pain at each touch from his mother who was tending to him at his bedside.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2024
Leon grimaced and lowered his voice, glancing over at me.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
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
“Tiny little mic,” she said, grimacing at a recent premiere.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2026
With his eyes closed and his face grimacing, he grappled for a bolt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
In the top of the ninth, closer Tanner Scott left the game alongside a trainer after walking one batter, hitting another and then spiking a slider that left him grimacing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025
It’s something I’ve never seen except in movies—a man clutching himself and grimacing and swaying and breathing in little huffs and bearing his teeth and going “Nurse, nurse, please.”
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
