1
as in gruff
harsh and threatening in manner or appearance
a grim and desolate landscape a grim and short-tempered shopkeeper who didn't exactly invite friendly conversation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in harsh
difficult to endure
this winter is supposed to be particularly grim, so stock up on firewood
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3
as in relentless
showing no signs of slackening or yielding in one's purpose
with grim determination, the woman worked three jobs to put her fatherless children through college
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4
as in savage
violently unfriendly or aggressive in disposition
grim warriors heading into battle
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grim
Doctors and aid workers inside Gaza are reporting grim and heartbreaking details of widespread malnutrition, particularly in children, as the hunger crisis reportedly continues to worsen amid the Israel-Hamas war.
—
Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 25 July 2025
Johnny Depp starred in Sleepy Hollow as Ichabod Crane, a police constable from New York City who travels to the titular town upstate to investigate a series of grim decapitations.
—EW.com, 23 July 2025
This turn of events offers a perfectly grim button to Cross’s ridiculous hallucinations of grandeur.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 July 2025
Two 8-member teams from the Czech Republic’s Urban Search and Rescue firefighter unit brought four of the world’s most renowned search dogs to cover the Guadalupe banks near Center Point, on the grim search for those lost in the July 4 Kerrville and Hill Country floods.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for grim
Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 25 July 2025
Johnny Depp starred in Sleepy Hollow as Ichabod Crane, a police constable from New York City who travels to the titular town upstate to investigate a series of grim decapitations.
—EW.com, 23 July 2025
This turn of events offers a perfectly grim button to Cross’s ridiculous hallucinations of grandeur.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 July 2025
Two 8-member teams from the Czech Republic’s Urban Search and Rescue firefighter unit brought four of the world’s most renowned search dogs to cover the Guadalupe banks near Center Point, on the grim search for those lost in the July 4 Kerrville and Hill Country floods.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for grim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grim
Adjective
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Bill Pogue’s family and friends knew him as a thoughtful, deeply sensitive man, despite his reputation as a gruff, stern, wildlife officer.—
Jim Zumbo,
Outdoor Life,
17 July 2025
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Who leaves us echoes — gruff, brilliant, unrepeatable — half legend, half lullaby.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Unlike harsh chemical cleaners or abrasive scrubbers like steel wool, salt effectively tackles grime while remaining safe for both wood and plastic cutting board surfaces.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
3 Aug. 2025
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As the moon moves through Sagittarius, a harsh reality disturbs your inner peace.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Abbott's relentless criticism of Biden over the spike in unauthorized crossings that started soon after the Democratic former president's inauguration in January 2021 is credited with helping make immigration a leading issue in the 2024 campaign.—
John C. Moritz,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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Phoenix has previously gone 154 consecutive days without rain, enduring relentless summer heat that has exceeded 110°F.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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But she and the remaining Storm family members are swept up into an inheritance game – her father’s last wish, organized by her father’s stern, handsome right-hand man.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
31 July 2025
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Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images With the matchup looming large as the 2025 season continues to draw closer, one of Rodgers' former teammates on the Jets has spoken out with a stern warning to him.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Lamont, who had proposed boosting special education aid by $40 million — but not until July 2026 — countered that the state budget already was on pace to exceed the budget cap and that legislators needed to make tough choices and trim spending.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
2 Aug. 2025
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Stage eight on Saturday will mark the start of a tough weekend of reckoning for the GC riders in the mountains to conclude the Tour.—
Jessica Hopkins,
New York Times,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Despite low turnout thus far, Morales is determined to make this work.—
Melinda Moore,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Aug. 2025
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Angela Craig lost brain activity on March 15 but wasn’t clinically determined brain dead until March 18, according to testimony from Aurora Police Department Detective Bobbi Jo Olson.—
Alisha Ebrahimji,
CNN Money,
31 July 2025
Adjective
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An inside look at the birth and power of ferocious storms Lowry credits the current warming in the Atlantic to a weakening of the Bermuda High, a pattern of high pressure that expands and shrinks over the western Atlantic and heavily influences hurricane movement.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
23 July 2025
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His was a time of global conflict, consumerist excess, and ferocious climate change.—
Daniel Seifert,
JSTOR Daily,
16 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grim. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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