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
-
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 idea is that those first steps would create space for gradual deescalation and an effective cessation of hostilities.—
Khaled Wassef,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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The concept, previously presented in European animation settings including Annecy, was pitched as a YA story about mental health, identity, online hostility and self-acceptance.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
1 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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The leader breaks the long-standing political and moral consensus with unprecedented relentlessness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
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The game felt over, as if the Thunder’s depth and relentlessness, as usual, would prevail.—
Marcus Thompson II,
New York Times,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gruffness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gruffness. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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