grim

See also: Grim

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɹɪm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪm

Etymology 1

(deprecated template usage)

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

Adjective

grim (comparative grimmer, superlative grimmest)

1. dismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding

   Life was grim in many northern industrial towns.

   • 2019 August 30, Jonathan Watts, “Amazon fires show world heading for point of no return, says UN”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Cristiana Paşca Palmer, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest was a grim reminder that a fresh approach needed to stabilise the climate and prevent ecosystems from declining to a point of no return, with dire consequences for humanity.

2. rigid and unrelenting

   His grim determination enabled him to win.

3. ghastly or sinister

   A grim castle overshadowed the village.

   • 2012 March 22, Scott Tobias, “The Hunger Games”, in AV Club:

     In movie terms, it suggests Paul Verhoeven in Robocop/Starship Troopers mode, an R-rated bloodbath where the grim spectacle of children murdering each other on television is bread-and-circuses for the age of reality TV, enforced by a totalitarian regime to keep the masses at bay.

4. (UK, slang) disgusting; gross

   - Wanna see the dead rat I found in my fridge?
   - Mate, that is grim!

Derived terms

• grimly
• grimmish
• grimness
• Grim Reaper
• grimsome

 

Translations

dismal and gloomy, cold and forbidding

• Bulgarian: строг (bg) (strog), суров (bg) (surov), неприветлив (bg) (neprivetliv)
• Czech: chmurný, krušný (cs), depresivní
• Dutch: grimmig (nl)
• Finnish: synkeä
• French: sinistre (fr), sombre (fr)
• German: grimmig (de), düster (de), finster (de)

  Old High German: grim, grimmi

• Hebrew: עגום (he) (agúm)
• Italian: arcigno (it), fosco (it)
• Latin: torvus
• Maori: mōkinokino
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norman: sévéthe m or f
• Old English: grimm
• Old Norse: grimr
• Old Saxon: grim
• Polish: ponury (pl)
• Portuguese: sinistro (pt)
• Russian: мра́чный (ru) (mráčnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: gruamach
• Slovak: pošmúrny m, neprívetivý m
• Swedish: grådaskig, kylig (sv)

rigid and unrelenting

• Bulgarian: неумолим (bg) (neumolim), непреклонен (bg) (nepreklonen)
• Finnish: synkeä
• French: inébranlable (fr), indéfectible (fr), rigide (fr), sombre (fr)
• German: unbeugsam (de), unnachgiebig (de), eisern (de)
• Italian: tenace (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Old English: grimm
• Polish: nieubłagany (pl), srogi (pl)
• Portuguese: rígido (pt), austero (pt)
• Russian: непрекло́нный (ru) (nepreklónnyj)
• Swedish: stenhård (sv)

ghastly or sinister

• Bulgarian: мрачен (bg) (mračen), зловещ (bg) (zlovešt)
• Danish: dyster
• Finnish: synkeä
• French: sinistre (fr), sombre (fr), déprimant (fr), triste (fr)
• Georgian: სასტიკი (ka) (sasṭiḳi)
• German: gruselig (de)
• Hebrew: נורא (he) (norá)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: tetro (it) m, sinistro (it) m
• Old English: grimm
• Portuguese: sinistro (pt) m
• Russian: мра́чный (ru) (mráčnyj), злове́щий (ru) (zlovéščij)
• Spanish: siniestro (es)
• Swedish: kuslig (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Maori: ^{(please verify)} muha
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} barsk (sv)

Verb

grim (third-person singular simple present grimm, present participle ing, simple past and past participle grimmed)

1. (transitive, rare) To make grim; to give a stern or forbidding aspect to.

Etymology 2

From Middle English grim, grym, greme, from Old English *grimu, *grimmu, from Proto-Germanic *grimmį̄ (“anger, wrath”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to resound, thunder, grumble, roar”). Cognate with Middle Dutch grimme, German Grimme (“anger”).

Noun

grim (uncountable)

1. (archaic) Anger, wrath.

Derived terms

• grimful
• grimless

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Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrɛːm/
• Rhymes: -ɛm

Etymology

From Old Norse grimmr, from Proto-Germanic *grimmaz.

Adjective

grim

1. ugly, unsightly
2. nasty

Inflection

Inflection of grim
	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Indefinte common singular	grim	grimmere	grimmest2
Indefinite neuter singular	grimt	grimmere	grimmest2
Plural	grimme	grimmere	grimmest2
Definite attributive1	grimme	grimmere	grimmeste
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

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Kalasha

Verb

grim

1. taking

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Old English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Proto-Germanic *grimmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrem- (“to thunder”). Cognate with Old Saxon grim, Old High German grim (German grimm, grimmig), Old Norse grimmr (Danish grim, Swedish grym); and with Greek χρεμίζω (chremízo), Old Church Slavonic грьмѣти (grĭměti) (Russian греме́ть (gremétʹ)), Latvian gremt. Perhaps related in Old Norse to veiled or hooded, Grim is also an alternate name for Odin, who often went around disguised; compare the hooded appearance of The Grim Reaper.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡrim/

Adjective

grim

1. fierce, severe, terrible

Declension

Declension of grim — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	grim	grim	grim
Accusative	grimne	grimme	grim
Genitive	grimmes	grimre	grimmes
Dative	grimmum	grimre	grimmum
Instrumental	grimme	grimre	grimme
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	grimme	grimma, grimme	grim
Accusative	grimme	grimma, grimme	grim
Genitive	grimra	grimra	grimra
Dative	grimmum	grimmum	grimmum
Instrumental	grimmum	grimmum	grimmum

Declension of grim — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	grimma	grimme	grimme
Accusative	grimman	grimman	grimme
Genitive	grimman	grimman	grimman
Dative	grimman	grimman	grimman
Instrumental	grimman	grimman	grimman
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	grimman	grimman	grimman
Accusative	grimman	grimman	grimman
Genitive	grimra, grimmena	grimra, grimmena	grimra, grimmena
Dative	grimmum	grimmum	grimmum
Instrumental	grimmum	grimmum	grimmum

Descendants

• Middle English: grim
  • Scots: grim
  • English: grim