Synonyms
Examples of grim in a Sentence
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
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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
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.
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing grim
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.
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Kids Definition
grim
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on grim
Nglish: Translation of grim for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of grim for Arabic Speakers
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