grimgrim /ɡrɪm/ ●●○ adjective 
the grim reality of rebuilding the shattered town When he lost his job, his future looked grim. Millions of Britons face the grim prospect (=something bad that will probably happen) of dearer home loans. We received the grim news in silence.2looking or sounding very serious: ‘I’ll survive,’ he said with a grim smile. The child hung on to her arm with grim determination. The police officers were silent and grim-faced.3British English informal very bad, ugly, or unpleasant: The weather forecast is pretty grim. They painted a grim picture of what life used to be like there. a grim industrial town4[not before noun] informal ill: Juliet felt grim through the early months of her pregnancy.5hold/hang on for/like grim death British English informal to hold something very tightly because you are afraid—grimly adverb: Arnold smiled grimly.—grimness noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINgrim
Origin:
Old English grimmEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A grim-faced diplomat read out the declaration of war.
- a grim-faced policeman
- a grim economic situation
- Rescue workers are continuing the grim task of searching for bodies.
- She looked grim and upset, standing silently in the corner.
- the grim details of the war
- The next few weeks brought more grim news, as the economic crisis began to deepen.
- The situation is grim for the innocent people, caught up in this conflict.
- Things look pretty grim for farmers at the moment.
- Two thousand car workers face the grim prospect of redundancy.
- As the supply of carrots dwindled, people told fewer stories, they grew grimmer, we laughed less at our conquerors.
- During that drive there was much discussion about the future, which looked pretty grim.
- Even in the grimmest period, we both respond to the inner commandments that find some value here.
- However, I suspect that Mains rather got some enjoyment out of appearing as some grim nemesis of the south.
- The Bears had better start grabbing on to something, anything, as the outlook on the season suddenly turned very grim.
- The next grim prospect is carnage following the PE2 results.
- The spy-fly zipped along in her wake, down narrower, abandoned, grim alleys.
- Their faces soot black, raccoon eyes grim, alert.
Longman Language Activatorwhen a situation, problem accident etc is bad
very bad - use this about problems, accidents, illnesses, or crimes: · The recent storms have caused serious damage.· The climbers got into serious difficulties and had to be air-lifted to safety.· In the last two weeks, the situation has become more serious, with riots and strikes spreading across the country.· Violent crime is a serious problem in and around the capital.· The boy was taken to hospital with serious head injuries.
a problem, illness, or accident that is bad is severe, and makes you feel worried: · The pain was really bad.· Paul's off work - he's got a bad cold.· Judy had been in a bad car crash several years before, and was still too nervous to drive.things are bad (=a situation is bad) spoken: · Things are bad in York - some people's houses have been flooded three times.
formal a grave situation or mistake is very serious and worrying because people are in danger and because the situation seems likely to get worse: · The situation is grave -- war now seems inevitable.· The ambassador declared that there would be grave consequences if the hostages were not released.grave danger: · A thick fog descended on the mountain, and I knew that we were in grave danger.grave risk: · There was a grave risk that the operation would leave him partly paralysed.grave mistake/error: · "It would be a grave mistake," said the president, "to ignore the problem, and pretend that it will go away."
a critical situation is very serious and dangerous and might get worse very suddenly - use this especially when people will die if it does not improve: · The situation is said to be critical and the army has been brought in to disperse the mob.· Things are now critical. Hospitals have no medicine, and people are running out of food.be in a critical conditionBritish /be in critical condition American (=so ill or badly injured that you could die): · Eight people were killed and four are still in a critical condition.
a desperate situation or problem is very serious or dangerous, and it does not seem possible that it will improve - use this especially when people will die if it does not improve: · Refugees on the border are living in appalling conditions with desperate shortages of food, medicine and water.· The situation was desperate. The enemy were now only a mile away.be in desperate need of something: · The hospital is full of people in desperate need of medical attention.
an acute illness, problem, or situation is one that has become very serious or dangerous, and needs to be dealt with quickly: · She was taken to the hospital suffering from acute appendicitis.· Patients suffering from acute depression may well need medication.· Nowhere is the problem more acute than Los Angeles County, where gang-related homicide is on the increase.· In San Diego, the shortage of skilled workers is acute.
a situation or piece of news that is grim is serious and unpleasant, and people think it will not get better: · The situation is grim for the innocent people, caught up in this conflict.· Rescue workers are continuing the grim task of searching for bodies.grim news: · The next few weeks brought more grim news, as the economic crisis began to deepen. grim prospect (=something bad that will probably happen): · Two thousand car workers face the grim prospect of redundancy.things look grim (=the situation seems grim): · Things look pretty grim for farmers at the moment.
spoken use this to say that something is serious and not something you should joke about: · Getting up for work at 5am every day is no laughing matter, especially in winter.· English teachers often joked that they could not pass the exam, but for the students it was no laughing matter.
if a situation is a matter of life and death , it is very serious, and what you do will affect whether the situation ends well or not - use this especially when it is possible that someone will die: · People grow their own food, and the success of their harvest is literally a matter of life or death.· In this town football isn't just a game - it's a matter of life and death.
informal if you say that a situation or event is no joke , it is difficult or unpleasant: · It's no joke if you have an accident in the mountains -- it's fifty miles to the nearest hospital.· Crossing the road was no joke with all the early morning traffic.
behaving in a serious way if someone says or does something in a serious way, they think that what they are saying or doing is important and should not be joked about: · All the other people in the office seemed to have a very serious attitude towards their work.serious about: · The band are only young, but they're very serious about their music.
to think that something is important, and spend a lot of time and effort on it: · I wish Dan would take his work more seriously.· She certainly takes her politics seriously -- she's always out at meetings.take life seriously (=think that everything in life is very important and serious): · He seemed much older than he was, and took life a little too seriously.
written quiet and very serious, especially because something important or worrying has happened: · Holmes looked grave, and stood deep in worried thought for a minute or two.· His expression became very grave when we told him what had happened.
very serious because of an important or sad occasion or ceremony: · Everyone stood respectfully, and looked solemn throughout the funeral service.· The judge read the verdict in a clear and solemn voice.
British /somber American sad, quiet, and serious because something unpleasant or worrying has happened or is going to happen: · They sat in somber silence.· The sun was shining brightly, but the mood was sombre.
serious and not smiling, because you are angry, upset, or worried about something: · She looked grim and upset, standing silently in the corner.· A grim-faced diplomat read out the declaration of war.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The child hung on to her arm with grim determination.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Dickens painted a grim picture of Victorian life.
1making you feel worried or unhappy SYN harsh: The child hung on to her arm with grim determination. (=very strong determination)· As a politician she was known for her dogged determination.
(=an unpleasant and sad discovery such as finding a dead body)· Police made the grim discovery while they were searching the house.
(=one that shows you are very strict or angry)· Aunty Kitty looked at us with a stern expression and ordered us indoors.
· The crew of the ship met a terrible fate.
· Many pensioners face a bleak future.
(=without anything to make you feel hopeful)· The theatre is losing money and its future looks bleak.
Dickens painted a grim picture of Victorian life. (=giving the impression that something is or will be bad)· The report paints a bleak picture of the economy.
· Many Britons face the grim prospect of having their home repossessed.
(=conditions that are really very bad)· We want to protect our children from the harsh reality of our violent world.
(=making you feel serious and worried or frightened)· They passed the armed guard, a grim reminder of the ever-present threat of terrorism.
(=when you succeed or are proved right, but do not really feel happy about it)· ‘That’s exactly what I expected,’ he said with grim satisfaction.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· What is at stake is whether conurbations like Merseyside and Tyne side face a future as grim as the present Belfast.· Holidays, split between parents, were just as grim.
· The farmhouse was even more grim than usual tonight.· Center officials cite even more grim statistics.· This is made more grim as most pollsters claim voters have made up their minds well before polling day.· A.. The results here sound more grim at first blush than they really are.· And in this case the consequence of such a repetition could hardly be more grim.
· He expected good behaviour and his rather grim glance in her direction did more to motivate her into action than any coaxing.· Of rather grim appearance, she wore a tunic of writhing snakes.· The detail of these two Appendices is indeed so full of problems as to make them rather grim reading.
· What is there to celebrate and explore when my life is so grim?· Sales are so grim they are offering individual game tickets, although the response has been tepid.· The expression on his face was so grim that it almost frightened her, and she stared at him speechlessly.
NOUN· In fact he found Patrick's grim determination not to be charmed rather amusing.· No words, no threats, no waste of energy, just a grim determination to do or die.
· But when Mellor left 10 Downing Street, his grim expression showed his Cabinet career was over.· Claudia thought of resisting, but one look at his grim expression told her it would be useless.· Cobalt had resumed his grim expression.· A grim expression furrowed his brow.· In that case, he told me with a grim expression, there was something he had to warn me about.
· Vologsky increased his pace, momentarily, gaining a few feet so that he could look back at Kirov's grim face.· They always watched him, but never with such grim faces.· He looked over at Renwick's grim face, fell silent.
· His closely shaven face was tense and his usually sensuous mouth set in a grim line.· Now, his mouth clamped into the grim line she was familiar with.· Her mouth set in a grim line, she went to the kitchen door.· Sarah's mouth set in a grim line.
· Workers were given the grim news by union officials at a mass meeting.· Many seemed resigned to defeat as two huge television screens flashed the grim news from East Coast precincts.· I brought grim news, and I delivered it with a certain mournful pleasure.· But yesterday's grim news was not unexpected and Marley's shares slipped just 2p to 108p.
· They let us know the grim picture you are being given, of our situation here.· Individuals painted a pretty grim picture of the pressures within social security offices.· Repeated commissions and zemstvo investigations drew a grim picture of peasant destitution and growing frustration.· The villagers were still talking about the servant-girl's revelations when dawn broke on a grim picture.
· But these steps forward are against the background of some grim realities for children in other areas.· Yet its simplicity dramatizes a grim reality.· Perhaps some of them are good at putting on a face, saving the grim reality for private moments.· Life was teaching him its grim realities - the hard and close way.· My brief visit certainly brought home to me the grim realities that lie behind the many statistics on Third World debt.· It has all been a fantastic myth exploded by grim reality.· However, the pain in her chest confirmed that this was no nightmare, but grim reality.
· Some tragedy appears to have befallen the family and it appears likely that the grim reaper called for both parents around 1846.· The long arm of the corporation's grim reaper is not deterred by such agoraphobic precautions.
· Their steep decline has given grim satisfaction to their legions of detractors.· He sensed their grim satisfaction, something meritorious in the air, some old grievance righted at last.· George locked the letter away, smiling with grim satisfaction.· Miguel stood there smoking and grunting and nodding to himself with the grim satisfaction that comes when your suspicions are proved correct.· Conservatives on the faculty enjoyed the grim satisfaction of seeing their predictions of catastrophe realized in full.
· Katherine's lips moved in a grim smile as she recalled some of the details - it had been quite a scandal.· He did it with the grim smile of the entrepreneur.· Her grim smile was triumphant when she turned back to the open freight car.· He pocketed it with a grim smile, evidently appreciating the joke.· There was a grim smile on Duvall's face as he advanced.· That grim smile smuggled beneath his moustache; a temperance flag at his elbow.· With a small grim smile of satisfaction, he went back to the utility room and looked at the power switches.
the grim reality of rebuilding the shattered town When he lost his job, his future looked grim. Millions of Britons face the grim prospect (=something bad that will probably happen) of dearer home loans. We received the grim news in silence.2looking or sounding very serious: ‘I’ll survive,’ he said with a grim smile. The child hung on to her arm with grim determination. The police officers were silent and grim-faced.3British English informal very bad, ugly, or unpleasant: The weather forecast is pretty grim. They painted a grim picture of what life used to be like there. a grim industrial town4[not before noun] informal ill: Juliet felt grim through the early months of her pregnancy.5hold/hang on for/like grim death British English informal to hold something very tightly because you are afraid—grimly adverb: Arnold smiled grimly.—grimness noun [uncountable]