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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Allegedly, Buckingham Palace leaned on the press to downplay the severity of the king’s illness last year, which paints a picture of a monarch who’s much sicker than people want to believe.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
3 June 2026
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The severity of the victim's injuries was not yet known.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
Noun
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There is no lag to anticipate and no visual harshness pulling attention away from the music.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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The texture is firm and mouth-filling, with the higher alcohol providing structure without harshness.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
Noun
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The apparent loss of the aircraft came after hostilities in the region escalated over the weekend, with Iran and Israel exchanging their first direct strikes in months late Sunday.—
Todd Symons,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
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Pashinyan has implemented the complete transformation of Armenia’s position in the region and the world, going from a de facto protectorate of Russia to one bordering on hostility.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
8 June 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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That fantasy was always about escaping American pace — the commute, the density, the relentlessness of a career that consumed everything.—
Lindsey Harn,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
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But the Canes are built in the image of Brind’Amour, playing with a suffocating 200-foot relentlessness that has produced a 12-1 playoff record so far.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gruffness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gruffness. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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