grim
Other forms: grimmer; grimmest
Things that are gloomy, stark, ghastly, and somber are grim. Sunshine, puppies, and rainbows are not grim; zombies, reapers, and mummies are grim. Less scary things like drizzly, foggy days can also be called grim.
Two famous uses of the adjective grim are the Grim Reaper and Grimm's Fairy Tales. Mr. Reaper shows up in movies and books wearing a long, hooded black cape and carrying a scythe, or long-handled blade used, in less grim circumstances, for mowing grass and reaping grain: he represents death. The real-life German brothers wrote some bone-chilling tales under their own name, Grimm, meaning "cruel, fierce," which is related to the English word grim. Modern grim things include crime-drama images of dead bodies and characters in horror movies.
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harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance“a grim man loving duty more than humanity”“"undoubtedly the grimmest part of him was his iron claw"- J.M.Barrie”synonyms: dour, forbiddingunpleasantdisagreeable to the senses, to the mind, or feelings
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shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
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filled with melancholy and despondency“took a grim view of the economy”synonyms: blue, depressed, dispirited, down, down in the mouth, downcast, downhearted, gloomy, low, low-spiriteddejectedaffected or marked by low spirits
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harshly ironic or sinister
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causing dejection“grim rainy weather”
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not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty“grim determination”“grim necessity”synonyms: inexorable, relentless, stern, unappeasable, unforgiving, unrelentingimplacableincapable of being placated
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Vocabulary lists containing grim
Context is king — that’s the lesson you need to internalize as you begin preparing for the vocabulary questions on the SAT. We have identified this pool of 200 words that cut across the disciplines and lend themselves well to context-dependent interpretation. As you learn this list on Vocabulary.com, you will have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in particular sentences. This is the same type of thinking you will need to develop in order to succeed on the SAT! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.
Context is king -- that’s the lesson you need to internalize as you begin preparing for the vocabulary questions on the new SAT. We have identified this pool of 200 words that cut across the disciplines and lend themselves well to context-dependent interpretation. As you learn this list on Vocabulary.com, you will have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in particular sentences. This is the same type of thinking you will need to develop in order to succeed on the new SAT! Here are all of our word lists to help you prepare for the new SAT (debuting March of 2016): The Language of the Test, Multiple-Meaning Words, and Words to Capture Tone.
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