Grimly
adj, adv ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Grim-looking, grim-natured. archaic
"To hear her rant, one would have supposed, who had not seen him, that her lank-haired, grimly partner, was the prettiest youth in the county of Dublin, and that all the comely lasses in Chapelizod and the country round were sighing and setting caps at him […]"
- 1 In a grim manner.
"He looked round and shouted grimly, "As soon as the gate is opened, you go out there - running.""
- 1 in a grim implacable manner wordnet
Example
More examples""She'll stay in her room until she confesses," said Marilla grimly."
Etymology
From Middle English grymly, grimlich, from Old English grimmliċ, corresponding to grim + -ly. Compare grimlike.
From Middle English grymly, grimliche, from Old English grimlīċe, equivalent to grim + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic grimmliga.
More for "grimly"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.