grim

adjective

ˈgrim 

grimmer; grimmest

1

a

: stern or forbidding in action or appearance

a grim taskmaster

When we saw his grim expression we knew he had bad news.

b

: somber, gloomy

grim news of the disaster

a grim winter

2

: ghastly, repellent, or sinister in character

a grim tale

made a grim discovery in the woods

3

: unflinching, unyielding

grim determination

4

: fierce in disposition or action : savage

grim wolves

grimly adverb

grimness noun

Synonyms of grim

• gruff
• stern
• fierce
• bleak
• intimidating
• rugged
• hostile
• stark
• severe
• forbidding

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 world may have looked grim in what was also a penultimate week before elections, when the focus becomes necessarily not on joy but misery, the political premise being the winning candidate is the one who makes the electorate the angriest. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026

The combination of factors threatens to make what is a grim situation worse. —Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 3 June 2026

While the world's largest PC vendors are currently in Taipei for Computex 2026, showcasing their latest hardware innovations, a new report from IDC projects a grim year for PC shipments. —Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 3 June 2026

Their tart banter in the Netflix hit doesn't rise to the toxic levels of their Roses relationship; in fact, the characters’ relationship ends on a more bittersweet and reflective note, as opposed to the movie’s grim comeuppance. —Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026

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 4

Phrases Containing grim

• grim reaper

Rhymes for grim

• brim
• clim
• dim
• gym
• him
• hymn
• im
• limb
• mim
• prim
• rim
• scrim

Kids Definition

grim

adjective

ˈgrim 

grimmer; grimmest

1

: cruel sense 2, fierce

2

a

: stern in action or appearance

b

: dismal sense 1

grim news

c

: depressed

3

: frightful sense 1

a grim tale

4

: unflinching, unyielding

grim determination

grimly adverb

grimness noun