grimmer; grimmest
1
: fierce in disposition or action : savage
grim wolves
2
a
: stern or forbidding in action or appearance
a grim taskmaster
b
: somber, gloomy
grim news of the disaster
3
: ghastly, repellent, or sinister in character
a grim tale
4
: unflinching, unyielding
grim determination
grimly adverb
grimness noun

Examples of grim in a Sentence

Hikers made a grim discovery when they came across a dead body in the woods. The accident serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving. The prognosis is grim—doctors do not expect her to live longer than six months. He paints a grim picture of the prospects for peace. His face looked grim, and we knew his news wouldn't be good.
Recent Examples on the Web Obituary spam is an especially grim type of digital piracy, where people attempt to make money by scraping and republishing death notices, sometimes on social platforms like YouTube. Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 5 Mar. 2024 Israeli attacks in Gaza have now reached a grim new milestone: more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health. Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 2 Mar. 2024 The latest bloodshed came as Gaza’s health officials reported that the death toll from the war had risen above 30,000, a grim milestone that intensified pressure on Israel to end its military offensive. Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 If Joe Biden is president, America’s 250th anniversary will surely be grim. Nikki Haley, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 In Mexico, activists have lined Reforma with grim reminders of the extreme violence of recent decades. Luis Antonio Rojas, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 The year 2023 was pretty grim at times, but the bright spots were radiant with hope. Linda McNamar, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 The chipmaker’s stock price has surged 200% over the last year Nvidia stock fell Wednesday as low as $662, a grim sign after the company’s loss of $78 billion in market value the day before. Laura Bratton, Quartz, 21 Feb. 2024 The phrase, popularized by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, offers the grim choice of taking a bribe or being shot – a possible warning to prison staff. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grim.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "fierce, savage, terrifying, repellent, violent, severe," going back to Old English grimm "fierce, savage, harsh, severe," going back to Germanic *grimma-, from earlier *gremma- (whence also Old Frisian grim, grem "fierce, severe, frightening," Old Saxon grimm "fierce, hostile, severe," Old High German grim, grimmi, Old Norse grimmr), adjective derivative from the base of *grimman- "to rage" (whence Old English & Old Saxon grimman "to rage," Old High German grimmen), probably going back to *ghrem-ne-, nasal present from an Indo-European verbal base *ghrem- "roar, rage," whence Avestan graməṇt- "raging," Greek chremetízein "to neigh, whinny," chrémisan "(they) neighed"; with zero-grade ablaut Old Church Slavic vŭzgrĭmě "thundered, roared," Lithuanian grumiù, grumė́ti "to roar, thunder"; with o-grade ablaut Germanic *gram- (whence Old English, Old Saxon & Old High German gram "angry, hostile, fierce," Old Norse gramr "anger," Old English gremman, gremian "to anger, enrage," Old High German gremmen, Old Norse gremja, Gothic gramjan), Old Church Slavic gromŭ "thunder," Greek chrómos, chrómē (Hesychius) "kind of noise, snorting, neighing," chrómados "grinding of jaws" (cf. chromis)

Note: The base *ghrem- is most likely of onomatopoeic origin, with different semantic developments in the Indo-European branch languages.

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grim was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near grim

Cite this Entry

“Grim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grim. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

grim

adjective
grimmer; grimmest
1
2
a
: stern in action or appearance
b
: dismal sense 1
grim news
c
3
: frightful sense 1
a grim tale
4
: unflinching, unyielding
grim determination
grimly adverb
grimness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on grim

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