as in ferocity
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Recent Examples of grimness
The frenetic energy serves to propel the watcher to each new twist and reveal, eschewing a grimness that would otherwise bring down the mood.
—
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 24 May 2026
Despite the grimness of the scene, the tone of the song is peppy and disorientingly pretty, with a shivery Dorian twist in its churning melody.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 19 May 2026
An ugly first period added to the initial grimness.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
There is some positive news amid the grimness.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026
Dark, eerie, and paranoid (for good reason), the eight-episode season shifts back and forth from the casual grimness of an unwelcoming reality to the shocking frights of a stoner’s worst nightmare (the latter of which is shrewdly motivated by Rachel regularly smoking pot).
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 26 Mar. 2026
The shot doubles down on the grimness of the story.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
Any grimness is offset by Cory’s love for his canine best friends who are as carefully drawn as the humans.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Happily, there are pleasures that precede this grimness.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 24 May 2026
Despite the grimness of the scene, the tone of the song is peppy and disorientingly pretty, with a shivery Dorian twist in its churning melody.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 19 May 2026
An ugly first period added to the initial grimness.
—Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
There is some positive news amid the grimness.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026
Dark, eerie, and paranoid (for good reason), the eight-episode season shifts back and forth from the casual grimness of an unwelcoming reality to the shocking frights of a stoner’s worst nightmare (the latter of which is shrewdly motivated by Rachel regularly smoking pot).
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 26 Mar. 2026
The shot doubles down on the grimness of the story.
—Literary Hub, 25 Mar. 2026
Any grimness is offset by Cory’s love for his canine best friends who are as carefully drawn as the humans.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Happily, there are pleasures that precede this grimness.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grimness
Noun
-
Adams is a great foil for Bardem, with her big blue ingénue eyes and quiet ferocity as a performer.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
-
But in other parts of the world, fires are springing up with less warning and more ferocity—in many cases, directly threatening areas densely populated by humans.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
To make the musical masterpiece of his dreams, Lestat will have to break on through his shell of witty cruelty and hope an authentic soul remains intact beneath it.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
2 June 2026
-
She was arrested at a hotel near the barn and booked at the Clark County Juvenile Hall on 12 counts of animal cruelty, including intentionally aiming or torturing a horse, as well as three counts of malicious destruction of property.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
While our money would be on The Last Son of Krypton in a main card matchup, Lobo fights dirty with a level of primal savagery that just might put the Big Blue Boy Scout and his cousin down for a few rounds.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
6 June 2026
-
When the Selma marchers faced down snarling dogs and baton-wielding police in 1965, the contrast between their passive resistance and the Jim Crow officials’ savagery echoed the caning of a century before.—
Rob Wolfe,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
Noun
-
The ferociousness of the defending champs can be, has been, overwhelming for most.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
19 May 2026
-
Here, sea level rise is accelerating at some of the most extreme rates on Earth, while hurricanes increasingly are swirling ashore with an unprecedented ferociousness.—
Amy Green,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For over 30 years, Judy Reyes has graced Hollywood with her fierceness.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
-
While the Panthers might have other, bigger needs on Day 2 of the draft, Rivers plays with a fierceness and energy that Morgan can certainly appreciate.—
Mike Kaye
March 24,
Charlotte Observer,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Lyrics by Ahrens and dialogue by McNally about the discrimination and brutality that Black Americans and immigrants face can seem straight out of the current moment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
-
Where the movie’s true eccentricity comes in is in its combination of breezy comedy with shocking brutality and gore, perhaps most exemplified in an oddly casual moment in a morgue where Seagal and Wayans find a clue in the form of a serial number on a dead woman’s breast implant.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
5 June 2026
Noun
-
An extra-dark comedy that veers toward sadism, the film is saved by the chemistry and star power of Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas (fresh off their Romancing the Stone series), with an assist from an excellent Danny DeVito.—
Debby Wolfinsohn,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Over Your Dead Body is not for the faint of heart, but give or take a rape threat that crosses the line into smug sadism without quite seeming to realize it, the violence lands as more comically cartoonish than horrific.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Their willingness to film their inhumanity echoed the Nazis of the Third Reich, who likewise filmed their mass atrocities.—
Bobby Zirkin,
Baltimore Sun,
14 May 2026
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Consider artificial intelligence phone systems that only add to the frustration and inhumanity of our lives.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grimness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grimness. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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