as in sternness
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Recent Examples of gruffness
But then Popper smiled and the arrival of opening day momentarily mellowed his gruffness.
—
Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Mackay and Turner are both excellent, two movie stars who seem totally game to be asked to move with real gruffness.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Mackay and Turner are both excellent, two movie stars who seem totally game to be asked to move with real gruffness.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gruffness
Noun
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Saura had a large sense of the humor, which struck those who got to know him, belying the sternness of his public visage with his playful banter and frequent chuckle.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Last July, Wolfson found Barahona competent, ruling that Barahona was capable of aiding his defense attorneys and understands the severity of the penalties should he be found guilty.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
6 May 2026
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After suffering a left hamstring injury earlier this season, Doncic said the latest Grade 2 strain to the same area is unlike any he’s experienced because of its severity.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
Noun
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Concrete and glass meet at sharp angles, while a curved courtyard wall softens the harshness.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
13 Apr. 2026
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Sunlight naturally sanitizes, and air drying prevents the harshness of high heat.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But many still derived entertainment from the frequent outbreak of hostilities between the teams, the FIA, and the commercial rights holder (then Bernie Ecclestone; now Liberty Media).—
Jonathan M. Gitlin,
ArsTechnica,
11 May 2026
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Their hostility tended to be reserved for Steven Gerrard.—
Simon Johnson,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Noun
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Less than a minute later, Kerr found a new level of vehemence after the Clippers’ John Collins wasn’t called for goaltending on a shot by Gary Payton II.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
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Such vehemence looked awkward just a few hours later, when The Athletic broke the news that, on December 20, Barca would actually be visiting Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica after all.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The harshness or relentlessness of weather can turn friends to lovers, can cause others to lose their minds, can provoke travel across continents, can cancel plans, can reroute rivers, can flood civilizations, can incite both panic and delight, can wash away a life’s work, can set fire to forests.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
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The idea was to lure visitors in with notions of decadence and frills, and then force them to confront the harsh realities of imperialism, colonialism, and the relentlessness of the fashion cycle.—
Emilia Petrarca,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gruffness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gruffness. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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