grimmer; grimmest
1
: fierce in disposition or action : savage
grim wolves
2
a
: stern or forbidding in action or appearance
a grim taskmaster
b
: somber, gloomy
grim news of the disaster
3
: ghastly, repellent, or sinister in character
a grim tale
4
: unflinching, unyielding
grim determination
grimly adverb
grimness noun

Examples of grim in a Sentence

Hikers made a grim discovery when they came across a dead body in the woods. The accident serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving. The prognosis is grim—doctors do not expect her to live longer than six months. He paints a grim picture of the prospects for peace. His face looked grim, and we knew his news wouldn't be good.
Recent Examples on the Web The reality is even grimmer for the 160 million Americans that live in states like California, Texas or Arkansas, where mental healthcare access is limited. Alexandra Frost, Popular Science, 28 Sep. 2023 To avoid an even grimmer future, the report’s authors warned, communities needed to recognize a harsh reality: Some young people are too far gone to save. Matthew Thompson, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2023 But the rush of frightened students pouring out of Snyder Hall revealed the grim truth. Will Lanzoni, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2023 Though the dramatic stakes seem minor, Van Peebles distills the premise down to its essence—money and the need for it—and creates, in twelve minutes, a grim, grinding, even brutal panorama of poverty. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2023 Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman struggled to make sense of how a joyous event could turn grim so quickly. Antonio Planas, NBC News, 21 Sep. 2023 So while the people who still toil at the Big Four day-to-know know how grim the next few months could get, their bosses higher up the corporate food chain are far more focused on figuring out how to make their struggling streaming platforms profitable. Vulture, 21 Sep. 2023 Despite the lack of reform and grim economic statistics for ordinary Lebanese, the crisis has significantly expanded one area of government that appears to be working: two programs that provide cash assistance, administered via two social welfare programs. Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2023 In recent days, a barrage of grim news for Biden, including an autoworkers strike in the Midwest that poses a challenge to his economic agenda and the beginning of impeachment proceedings on Capitol Hill, has made this intraparty tension increasingly difficult to ignore. Lisa Lerer, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grim.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "fierce, savage, terrifying, repellent, violent, severe," going back to Old English grimm "fierce, savage, harsh, severe," going back to Germanic *grimma-, from earlier *gremma- (whence also Old Frisian grim, grem "fierce, severe, frightening," Old Saxon grimm "fierce, hostile, severe," Old High German grim, grimmi, Old Norse grimmr), adjective derivative from the base of *grimman- "to rage" (whence Old English & Old Saxon grimman "to rage," Old High German grimmen), probably going back to *ghrem-ne-, nasal present from an Indo-European verbal base *ghrem- "roar, rage," whence Avestan graməṇt- "raging," Greek chremetízein "to neigh, whinny," chrémisan "(they) neighed"; with zero-grade ablaut Old Church Slavic vŭzgrĭmě "thundered, roared," Lithuanian grumiù, grumė́ti "to roar, thunder"; with o-grade ablaut Germanic *gram- (whence Old English, Old Saxon & Old High German gram "angry, hostile, fierce," Old Norse gramr "anger," Old English gremman, gremian "to anger, enrage," Old High German gremmen, Old Norse gremja, Gothic gramjan), Old Church Slavic gromŭ "thunder," Greek chrómos, chrómē (Hesychius) "kind of noise, snorting, neighing," chrómados "grinding of jaws" (cf. chromis)

Note: The base *ghrem- is most likely of onomatopoeic origin, with different semantic developments in the Indo-European branch languages.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grim was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near grim

Cite this Entry

“Grim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grim. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.

Kids Definition

grim

adjective
grimmer; grimmest
1
2
a
: stern in action or appearance
b
: dismal sense 1
grim news
c
3
: frightful sense 1
a grim tale
4
: unflinching, unyielding
grim determination
grimly adverb
grimness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on grim

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