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# 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#m1)

2) Grim means unpleasant, worrying or sad («grim news»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#m2)

3) A grim place is dark, cold and gloomy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#m3)

4) (UK, informal) Grim means horrible or disgusting («The school toilets were grim»). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#m4)

5) «Hold on like grim death» means to hold very tightly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#m5)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x1)
- The news about the flood was grim. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x2)
- The castle was a grim, grey place. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x3)
- The bins smelt grim in the heat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x4)
- He held on to the rope like grim death. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x5)
- The weather forecast is grim for the weekend. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x6)
- The Grim Reaper is a spooky picture of death. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x7)
- The princess stood silent, and her face grew grim. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/#x8)

### 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/grim/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.