as in scowled
to distort one's face
playgoers grimaced at the actor's terrible attempt at a French accent
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Recent Examples of grimaced
Williams knocked knees late in the fourth quarter against Houston and immediately grimaced, but didn’t show any effects after posting 20 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes.
—
Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 21 Feb. 2026
Castle grimaced in pain for about a minute after the Rockets' Josh Okogie inadvertently banged into the 2024 Rookie of the Year's already sore left thumb midway through the third quarter of the 111-106 loss at Houston.
—Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Jan. 2026
The knee buckled upon his landing and Butler screamed, grimaced and grabbed at his knee while down for a couple of minutes.
—CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
Nix grimaced and walked off the field.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 18 Jan. 2026
Stokes grimaced, bit his collar and headed straight for the dressing room, unable to complete his over.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Mayfield had his left shoulder first checked in the second quarter after taking a hard hit on a scramble, and grimaced later in the drive after throwing a touchdown pass to Tez Johnson.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 24 Nov. 2025
For a team picture as a kid, Curtis grimaced and put his shoulder pads over a broken collarbone.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
Shelton first grimaced in pain after hitting a forehand at the end of the third set.
—Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 21 Feb. 2026
Castle grimaced in pain for about a minute after the Rockets' Josh Okogie inadvertently banged into the 2024 Rookie of the Year's already sore left thumb midway through the third quarter of the 111-106 loss at Houston.
—Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Jan. 2026
The knee buckled upon his landing and Butler screamed, grimaced and grabbed at his knee while down for a couple of minutes.
—CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026
Nix grimaced and walked off the field.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 18 Jan. 2026
Stokes grimaced, bit his collar and headed straight for the dressing room, unable to complete his over.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Mayfield had his left shoulder first checked in the second quarter after taking a hard hit on a scramble, and grimaced later in the drive after throwing a touchdown pass to Tez Johnson.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 24 Nov. 2025
For a team picture as a kid, Curtis grimaced and put his shoulder pads over a broken collarbone.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
Shelton first grimaced in pain after hitting a forehand at the end of the third set.
—Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grimaced
Verb
-
Those that attended mostly sat and scowled.—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Another line of attack likens the show to when bachelorette parties invade gay bars — a practice frequently scowled upon by gay patrons.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
These are values that Allen says are unfortunately frowned upon in our hypermasculine culture.—
Wendy Wisner,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Alice’s father is a British government official high in the ranks of Bombay society so her friendship with film star Rochana is frowned on by her strict mother.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Brown sprinted to Parker’s bench, stared at the Mission Hills football players and brought her right index finger to her lips.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
As the Republican applause continued, the president stared in their direction, with a disgusted look on his face.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
During the court hearing at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, Wedding, who wore a beige jail uniform and black Crocs, scanned the gallery and occasionally smirked.—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo smirked while preparing to box out, and Washington made one but missed his final two free throws.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
15 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The universities have sneered at the people who are feeding them.—
Richard K. Vedder,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Be the person folks used to have so much admiration for, versus someone sneered at when his name is mentioned.—
Victoria Uwumarogie,
Essence,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
From the front passenger seat, Orlando businessman Jimmy Hewitt turned around and glared at Williams.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Jokić glared at Williams before the two were eventually separated.—
Mike Prada,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grimaced.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grimaced. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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