grinned

past tense of grin
as in smiled
to express an emotion (as amusement) by curving the lips upward grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grinned In photos obtained by the Daily Mail, the singer could be seen smiling in the back seat of an SUV while her soccer player boyfriend of two years grinned from the front seat. — Meg Walters, InStyle, 28 Sep. 2026 Kulich missed most of last season with a blood clot issue, but Mrtka grinned when asked how Kulich looked this summer. — Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 In one photo, the family of four posed together on the beach with Sybil sporting a playful pout while the rest of the bunch grinned. — Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026 In 2014, Josh Brolin appeared in Hall H, slipped on the Infinity Gauntlet, and grinned. — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026 Bo grinned, staring at the pale-blue walls of the large classroom. — Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 2026 But the real star of her segment were her adorable backup dancers, the Ugandan dance troupe Ghetto Kids, who grinned throughout the number. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 19 July 2026 Rabbi Eli Schlanger leaned back in his chair, sighed and grinned like a kid. — John Blake, CNN Money, 5 July 2026 Wheeler grinned before Hill exchanged high-fives and chest bumps with right fielder Brandon Marsh. — CBS News, 26 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinned
Verb
  • The longtime Paul McCartney collaborator smiled and nodded, taking in the moment during the final night of Eddie Vedder‘s annual Southern California festival.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Stewart smiled while on her way to the bench as the ESPN broadcast highlighted Jonquel Jones stirring an imaginary pot on the sidelines.
    — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 27 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Earlier this month, Texas quarterback Arch Manning laughed at an AI meme of ESPN reporter Holly Rowe getting slapped by Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian.
    — Matt Calkins OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The screen showed the name of the student who’d laughed at my crab-egg story.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Grinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinned. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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