as in to frown
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
science.org, 13 Feb. 2025
Where there was once a wistful Mona Lisa-style facial expression — lips parted enough to suggest a smile or a grimace, depending on perspective — now there is no room for interpretation.
—Leah Dolan, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
Muscles bulging and soaked in sweat, his face is etched in a grimace of extreme exertion.
—Sarah Shephard, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
Forgetting this city was about 60% Yuppy Town, three distressed grimaces and one sly smile appeared.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grimace
Noun
By cross-referencing these expressions against the grimace scales researchers have already created, the AI can look for telltale signs of pain or distress.
—science.org, 13 Feb. 2025
Where there was once a wistful Mona Lisa-style facial expression — lips parted enough to suggest a smile or a grimace, depending on perspective — now there is no room for interpretation.
—Leah Dolan, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
Muscles bulging and soaked in sweat, his face is etched in a grimace of extreme exertion.
—Sarah Shephard, The Athletic, 7 Jan. 2025
Forgetting this city was about 60% Yuppy Town, three distressed grimaces and one sly smile appeared.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 1 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grimace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grimace
Verb
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In the United States, doing significant work a rental might be frowned upon.—
Thea Duncan Prando,
CNBC,
17 May 2025
-
Mook continued to openly frown at Gaitok’s strong moral compass, valid worries, and vulnerabilities.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
And only after stomping around for almost two full minutes did Roberts finally retreat, trudging back to the clubhouse with a scowl on his face.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2025
-
The rout evened this three-game series and added a laugher to a rivalry usually played with scowls and gritted teeth.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
11 June 2025
Verb
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Far too often, business leaders get caught staring at the wrong gauges—hyper-focused on vanity metrics, internal politics or the crisis of the week.—
Ryan Kunkel,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
-
Captured in the early morning, the video shows the woman entering her kitchen to find her partner staring at a grey cat, which is nonchalantly eating from a bowl on the floor.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Noun
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This 30-year-old expression is smooth, flavorful, and rich on the palate, with an oily viscosity and full-bodied robustness that envelops the mouth.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
Indeed, at one point, the owner even pretended to place the ball in the machine using his mouth, just as his dog would do, but even that was beyond the golden's realm of understanding.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Both were sneered at by middle-class reviewers and adored by the public.—
Graham Robb,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2025
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Written with the sneering disaffection of an ex-believer, the hundred-and-twenty-thousand-word letter argued that egalitarianism, far from improving the world, was actually responsible for most of its ills.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
Noun
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But watching a group of roughnecks on a rig in grubby overalls moving huge, long steel pipes, Dugan's smile begins to fade to a smirk.—
Kirk Siegler,
NPR,
24 Apr. 2025
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Modern thinkers stopped using these concepts altogether except in quotation marks, with a wink, a smirk, and a glance backward toward the unscientific past.—
Isaac Bashevis Singer,
Harpers Magazine,
26 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grimace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grimace. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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