Grizzle

//ˈɡɹɪzəl// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A dark grey colour.
  2. 2
    a grey wig wordnet
  3. 3
    Grey hair.
  4. 4
    A grey wig.
Verb
  1. 1
    To make or become grey, as with age.

    "R. F. Burton hardship of the way such as would grizzle little children"

  2. 2
    To cry continuously but not very loudly (said especially of young children).
  3. 3
    complain whiningly wordnet
  4. 4
    To whinge or whine. Australia, New-Zealand, UK, slang

    "[Wilfred:] In tears, eh? What a plague art thou grizzling for now?"

  5. 5
    be in a huff; be silent or sullen wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    To fuss or cry. Australia, New-Zealand, UK, slang

    "New mothers frequently complain that their partner won't get up to change a wet nappy or comfort a grizzling baby."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of a grey colour.
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
acierashenashybaybayardbesnow

Example

More examples

"R. F. Burton hardship of the way such as would grizzle little children"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English grisel, gryselle, from Old French grisel, from gris (“grey”), from Frankish *grīs, from Proto-Germanic *grīsaz.

Etymology 2

A West Country dialect term, perhaps from Old English grisan (“shudder”), which would make it a cognate of modern English grisly (not grizzly).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.