grim

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective not to be placated or appeased or moved by entreaty
  2. adjective shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
  3. adjective harshly ironic or sinister

Etymology

From Middle English grim, from Old English grimm, from Proto-West Germanic *grimm, from Proto-Germanic *grimmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to resound, thunder, grumble, roar”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

inexorable, relentless, stern, unappeasable, unforgiving, unrelenting

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