as in to scowl
to distort one's face
playgoers grimaced at the actor's terrible attempt at a French accent
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scowl
a twisting of the facial features in disgust or disapproval
he made a grimace when he tasted the medicine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grimace
Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Wang grimaced, eying his neighbor’s yard.
—Gabriel Debenedetti, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Colleen Barry, Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
Texas basketball coach Sean Miller glanced over the stat sheet after Saturday’s 74-70 home loss to rival Texas A&M with a grimace before stating the obvious.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for grimace
Verb
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Wang grimaced, eying his neighbor’s yard.
—Gabriel Debenedetti, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
After Malinin botched his final free in the singles competition, Cowan kept his distance as the skater crumbled into a grimace of abject disappointment.
—Colleen Barry, Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
Texas basketball coach Sean Miller glanced over the stat sheet after Saturday’s 74-70 home loss to rival Texas A&M with a grimace before stating the obvious.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for grimace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grimace
Verb
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But there’s more to Brind’Amour than the person fans see screaming and scowling behind the bench or stomping around the dressing room in a postwin video looking like some combination of Godzilla and Chris Farley’s famous Matt Foley character.—
Cory Lavalette,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
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Leaving home without a hat, scarf, gloves, umbrella, and/or scowl.—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The Spaniard left hurriedly, carrying a frown that owed to a sense of injustice.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
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Greg’s smile, contrasted with the frowns and thumbs-down from the rest of the crew, makes for an entertaining visual.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the fourth quarter with the game on the line, Blair called a loose-ball foul on the Cavs and Atkinson hated the call, but rather than scream or dart toward the official, Atkinson just sort of stood near his bench, staring at Blair and shaking his head.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
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Some sit pensively, staring into the distance—one resembles Rodin's The Thinker, his chin gently resting on his hand.—
Mary Holland,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 May 2026
Noun
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An elderly man offered a smirk for his mugshot after being arrested in a caught-on-camera hit-and-run involving a cyclist group.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
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The prospect of doing it again with even larger stakes brought an excited smirk to Smart’s face.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Newman’s God is laughing at our prayers, sneering at our cries for help.—
Time,
Time,
6 May 2026
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But there’s also a kind of sneering conventional wisdom toward Vance that doesn’t seem to have much basis in political reality.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Both governments still mouth the old slogans, by rote.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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Or to sometimes instinctively mouth the words to Christmas carols the kids sang to him with tears or confusion in their eyes.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grimace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grimace. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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