grimace
/ˈɡɹɪm.əs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.61 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A contorted facial expression, often expressing contempt or pain.
Example Sentences
- "Her face was twisted in a grimace of disgust."
- "I trundle off to bed, eyes brimming, face twisted into a grateful glistening grimace, and awaken the next day wondering what all the fuss was about."
- "Zeluco considered all this as mere affectation and grimace, and was convinced that she would, in due time, unfold the particular mode in which she wished to be indemnified […]."
- "Charlotte was equally insensible to all his fashionable grimace, and indifferent to his conversation."
Etymology
From French grimace, from Middle French grimace, from Old French grimace, grimuche, from grime (“mask”) (with the pejorative suffix -ace, from Latin -āceus), from Frankish *grīma, *grīmō (“mask”), from Proto-Germanic *grīmô (“mask, helmet”). Cognate with Old English grīma (“mask, visor, helmet, spectre, apparition”). More at grime.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: *gʰrey-, grimace, *grīma, *grīmô
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡɹɪm.əs/
- British English: /ˈɡɹɪm.əs/