as in to scowl
to distort one's face
playgoers grimaced at the actor's terrible attempt at a French accent
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scowl
a twisting of the facial features in disgust or disapproval
he made a grimace when he tasted the medicine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grimace
Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Chee grimaces in pain from his ghost sickness wounds, and Manuelito notices.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Mar. 2026
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
With a grimace on his face and look of effort, Valastro held up his fist and tried to stick his middle finger in the air.
—Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for grimace
Verb
Nesmith and Siakam could only grimace at each other.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
Chee grimaces in pain from his ghost sickness wounds, and Manuelito notices.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Mar. 2026
Noun
So, the publicists, makeup team and fellow members of the press — all of us peering out of the floor-to-ceiling windows with a grimace — begin doing just that.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
With a grimace on his face and look of effort, Valastro held up his fist and tried to stick his middle finger in the air.
—Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for grimace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grimace
Verb
-
Those that attended mostly sat and scowled.—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
25 Feb. 2026
-
He was picked up first on meth charges on May 14, 1986, according to news reports and a San Francisco police booking photo, which shows him in a blue hoodie scowling into the camera.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Not a quiver in his lips, yet his frown growing.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
3 Dec. 2025
-
My best friend Russell is an acupuncturist, and seemed like the perfect person to place my tape, slapping it on my frown lines, crow’s-feet, and nasolabial folds.—
Lena Dunham,
Vogue,
19 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Researchers placed food near a person who either stared directly at nearby gulls or deliberately looked away.—
Samantha Agate,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Food was placed near a person who either stared directly at nearby gulls or deliberately looked away.—
Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Barcelona, created by a small group of rock-and-roll writers from Buenos Aires, approached news stories from Argentina and around the world with a smirk.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Gates, no relation to Antonio, offers a shrug and a smirk.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In character as a free spirit who scorns social convention, Davis is all haughty tosses of the head and sneering lines.—
Darren Franich,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Mar. 2026
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That lack of an official accounting encouraged a willful amnesia about the regime’s crimes and, Mendonça Filho has argued, led directly to the 2018 election of Jair Bolsonaro, who ran on a platform of sneering nostalgia for the era of military rule.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Both governments still mouth the old slogans, by rote.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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Or to sometimes instinctively mouth the words to Christmas carols the kids sang to him with tears or confusion in their eyes.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grimace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grimace. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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