adjective, grim·mer, grim·mest.
1.
stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise: grim determination; grim necessity.
2.
of a sinister or ghastly character; repellent: a grim joke.
3.
having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air: a grim man but a just one; a grim countenance.
4.
fierce, savage, or cruel: War is a grim business.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German grimm, Old Norse grimmr
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German grimm, Old Norse grimmr
Related forms
grim·ly, adverb
grim·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. harsh, unyielding. 2. frightful, horrible, dire, appalling, horrid, grisly, gruesome, hideous, dreadful. 3. severe, stern, hard. 4. ferocious, ruthless.
1. harsh, unyielding. 2. frightful, horrible, dire, appalling, horrid, grisly, gruesome, hideous, dreadful. 3. severe, stern, hard. 4. ferocious, ruthless.
Antonyms
1. lenient. 2. attractive. 3. gentle.
1. lenient. 2. attractive. 3. gentle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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|
Link To grim
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Grim
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
grim (ɡrɪm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj , grimmer, grimmest | |
| 1. | stern; resolute: grim determination |
| 2. | harsh or formidable in manner or appearance |
| 3. | harshly ironic or sinister: grim laughter |
| 4. | cruel, severe, or ghastly: a grim accident |
| 5. | archaic, poetic or fierce: a grim warrior |
| 6. | informal unpleasant; disagreeable |
| 7. | hold on like grim death to hold very firmly or resolutely |
| [Old English grimm; related to Old Norse grimmr, Old High German grimm savage, Greek khremizein to neigh] | |
| 'grimly | |
| —adv | |
| 'grimness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
grim
O.E. grimm "fierce, cruel," from P.Gmc. *grimmaz (cf. Ger. grimm, O.N. grimmr, Swed. grym "fierce, furious"), from PIE *ghrem- perhaps imitative of the sound of rumbling thunder (cf. Gk. khremizein "to neigh," O.C.S. vuzgrimeti "to thunder," Rus. gremet' "thunder"). A weaker word now than once it was;
sense of "dreary, gloomy" first recorded c.1175. It also had a verb form in O.E., grimman (class III strong verb; past tense gramm, p.p. grummen). O.E. also had a noun, grima "goblin, specter," perhaps also a proper name or attribute-name of a god, hence its appearance as an element in place names. As a noun meaning "a form of bogey or haunting spirit," first recorded 1628.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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