as in frowning
to distort one's face
playgoers grimaced at the actor's terrible attempt at a French accent
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Recent Examples of grimacing
Anthony appeared to tweak his hand after checking his swing during his first-inning at bat, grimacing and flexing his hand after pulling up three quarters of the way through his follow through.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 May 2026
The fifth-year senior also was seen grimacing in pain during the game.
—Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 28 Mar. 2026
Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior’s team needed him most.
—Janie McCauley, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain, limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior's team needed him most.
—CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior’s team needed him most.
—Dallas Morning News, 26 Mar. 2026
Ref Bankes initially ignored the wide-eyed protests of several Chelsea players to flash only his yellow card as Garnacho writhed, grimacing on the floor and clutching his left leg.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Fully aware of how costly the mistake was, Glenn couldn’t hide her disappointment immediately after hitting her final pose, grimacing and trying to hold back her emotions.
—Alice Park, Time, 18 Feb. 2026
She could be seen grimacing after making a small error during her performance, landing awkwardly off a spinning double axel.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 7 Feb. 2026
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 May 2026
The fifth-year senior also was seen grimacing in pain during the game.
—Danny Davis, Austin American Statesman, 28 Mar. 2026
Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior’s team needed him most.
—Janie McCauley, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2026
Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain, limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior's team needed him most.
—CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior’s team needed him most.
—Dallas Morning News, 26 Mar. 2026
Ref Bankes initially ignored the wide-eyed protests of several Chelsea players to flash only his yellow card as Garnacho writhed, grimacing on the floor and clutching his left leg.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
Fully aware of how costly the mistake was, Glenn couldn’t hide her disappointment immediately after hitting her final pose, grimacing and trying to hold back her emotions.
—Alice Park, Time, 18 Feb. 2026
She could be seen grimacing after making a small error during her performance, landing awkwardly off a spinning double axel.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 7 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grimacing
Verb
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Woods, 50, is seen frowning in the photo, taken shortly after the legendary golfer was booked into jail on March 27 after his Land Rover rolled over in Jupiter Island, Florida.—
Natasha Dye,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
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Hubbard posted an image of herself with a disgusted look on her face from earlier in Season 10, while Dillard shared a photo of himself frowning, also from a scene in the show.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But there’s more to Brind’Amour than the person fans see screaming and scowling behind the bench or stomping around the dressing room in a postwin video looking like some combination of Godzilla and Chris Farley’s famous Matt Foley character.—
Cory Lavalette,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
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My sister was scowling and pacing the path outside my mother’s flat.—
Douglas Stuart,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His hands were at ten and two, his face fixed, staring straight ahead.—
Weike Wang,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
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According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of seizures can include short-term confusion, staring spells, stiff muscles and jerking movements of the arms and legs.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Verb
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He was seen smirking in the courtroom, at times laughing, as prosecutors laid out their case for him to be detained.—
Sabrina Franza,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
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Something of a Hurley whisperer, who is there to translate what the coach wants – minus the additional adjectives – for his teammates, usually sitting and smirking while Hurley riffs on the grievance of the day.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Newman’s God is laughing at our prayers, sneering at our cries for help.—
Time,
Time,
6 May 2026
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But there’s also a kind of sneering conventional wisdom toward Vance that doesn’t seem to have much basis in political reality.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grimacing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grimacing. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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