gritty

adjective

grit·ty ˈgri-tē

grittier; grittiest

Synonyms of gritty next

: containing or resembling grit

: courageously persistent : plucky

a gritty heroine

: having strong qualities of tough uncompromising realism

a gritty novel

grittily

ˈgri-tə-lē

adverb

grittiness

ˈgri-tē-nəs

noun

Did you know?

Gritty comes from grit ("small hard granules"), which in turn derives, via Middle English, from an Old English word for "sand" or "gravel." Grit has been around since before the 12th century, but the first appearance of gritty in print in English was near the end of the 16th century, when it was used in the sense of "resembling or containing small hard granules." Grit entered American slang with the meaning "courage or persistence" in the early 19th century, and gritty followed suit with a corresponding "plucky" sense. By the 19th century's end, gritty was also being used to describe a literary style that was rough and coarse.

Examples of gritty in a Sentence

I admire her gritty determination to succeed. The book describes the gritty realities of life on the streets. He gave us all of the gritty details of his divorce.

Recent Examples on the Web Oasis was Blur’s perfect polar opposite; fronted by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher and hailing from the industrial city of Manchester, the band employed a grittier sound that matched its provenance. —

Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 16 July 2024 The finely ground beans are not completely filtered, making for a gritty and strong java. —

Jason Clayworth, Axios, 12 July 2024 Even midsize dailies were once gritty, sprawling manufacturing and logistics outfits that employed factory workers, delivery drivers, door-to-door sales staff and more. —

Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 12 July 2024 This gritty and emotional drama is a dazzling showcase for new talent, and will be introduced by producer, screenwriter and former EIFF Director, Lynda Myles. —

Zac Ntim, Deadline, 10 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for gritty

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