grim
[adjective]
Synonyms: forbidding, formidable, harsh, merciless, ruthless, severe, sinister, stern, terrible

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Antonyms: pleasant, lenient
Contrasted words: calm, mellow, mild, soft, warm, attractive, beautiful, pleasing, considerate, gentle, clement, forbearing, indulgent
Related Words: foreboding, ominous, cold, forbidding, off-putting, fixed, rigid, set, determined, firm, stern, adamant, inexorable, inflexible, obdurate, resolute, stubborn, unforgiving, vindictive, certain, inevitable, dogged, loathsome, offensive, repugnant, repulsive, revolting

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

grim /ɡrɪm/ adjective
[Language: Old English; Origin: grimm]

1. making you feel worried or unhappy Synonym : harsh:
the grim reality of rebuilding the shattered town
When he lost his job, his future looked grim.
Millions of Britons face the grim prospect (=something bad that will probably happen) of dearer home loans.
We received the grim news in silence.

2. looking or sounding very serious:
‘I’ll survive,’ he said with a grim smile.
The child hung on to her arm with grim determination.
The police officers were silent and grim-faced.

3. British English informal very bad, ugly, or unpleasant:
The weather forecast is pretty grim.
They painted a grim picture of what life used to be like there.
a grim industrial town

4. [not before noun] informal ill:
Juliet felt grim through the early months of her pregnancy.

5. hold/hang on for/like grim death British English informal to hold something very tightly because you are afraid
—grimly adverb:
Arnold smiled grimly.
—grimness noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲