grim

«grim» in Mova's school dictionary: very serious, stern and unsmiling («a grim face») — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (grim, grimmer, grimmest)

meaning for a pupil

1) Grim means very serious, stern and unsmiling («a grim face»). tree →

2) Grim means unpleasant, worrying or sad («grim news»). tree →

3) A grim place is dark, cold and gloomy. tree →

4) (UK, informal) Grim means horrible or disgusting («The school toilets were grim»). tree →

5) «Hold on like grim death» means to hold very tightly. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories, grim faces and grim weather set a dark mood; the «Grim Reaper» is a picture of death in a hooded cloak with a scythe. In the news, «grim» describes bad news like disasters. In everyday UK talk, «that's grim» means yuck.

examples

• The teacher looked grim when she saw the mess. tree →
• The news about the flood was grim. tree →
• The castle was a grim, grey place. tree →
• The bins smelt grim in the heat. tree →
• He held on to the rope like grim death. tree →
• The weather forecast is grim for the weekend. tree →
• The Grim Reaper is a spooky picture of death. tree →
• The princess stood silent, and her face grew grim. tree →

note

Comparatives double the m: grimmer, grimmest. Not connected with the Brothers Grimm (a name, spelt with two m). Similar: stern, gloomy, bleak.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «grim» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.