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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After the flight crew allegedly requested an onboard doctor, a physician-passenger advised that due to the severity of the burns and their proximity to her genitals, AC should be transported to an urgent care facility as soon as possible, the complaint says.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
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Authorities say the fire caused losses far exceeding $10 million, a key threshold that elevates the severity of the charge, while federal officials estimate total damage at roughly $500 million.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 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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More than half a century of Cold War hostilities were thawing.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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The goal of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel is to end hostilities and the occupation of southern Lebanon, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement today.—
Will Clark,
NBC news,
20 Apr. 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 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
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But the sheer relentlessness of its joke-cracking bodes well for future, riskier enterprises — as, for that matter, does the natural spark between Matarazzo’s repeatedly foiled would-be swagger and Giambrone’s disarming mama’s-boy act.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gruffness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gruffness. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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