grimly

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɪmli/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmli

Etymology 1

From Middle English grymly, grimlich, from Old English grimmliċ, corresponding to grim +‎ -ly. Compare grimlike.

Adjective

grimly (comparative grimlier, superlative grimliest)

1. (now rare) Grim-looking, grim-natured.
   • 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

     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 […]

   • 1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Don't Point That Thing at Me, Penguin, published 2001, page 94:

     In reality it was the most terrifying sight I had seen to date: two fried eggs decorated with ketchup, Tabasco and chopped chillis in the semblance of a pair of bloodshot eyes – I would as soon have eaten my own leg. I waved the grimly thing away.

Derived terms

• grimliness

Etymology 2

From Middle English grymly, grimliche, from Old English grimlīċe, equivalent to grim +‎ -ly. Cognate with Icelandic grimmliga.

Adverb

grimly (comparative more grimly, superlative most grimly)

1. In a grim manner.

   Synonym: (obsolete) grisly

   • 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 63:

     He looked round and shouted grimly, "As soon as the gate is opened, you go out there - running."

   • 1968, “Grimly Forming”, in Peter Vandergeler (lyrics), Conspicuous Only in Its Absence, performed by The Great Society:

     I looked out my window / The cloud was grimly forming / Waiting for the rain I saw / The one dark cloud forming

Translations

in a grim manner

• Finnish: synkästi (fi)
• French: sinistrement (fr)
• German: grimmig (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: (Epic) ὑπόδρα (hupódra)

• Italian: cupamente (it), torvamente (it)
• Polish: ponuro (pl)
• Portuguese: sombriamente, sinistramente
• Russian: мра́чно (ru) (mráčno), злове́ще (ru) (zlovéšče) (ominously)
• Spanish: sombríamente, torvamente
• Telugu: వికారముగా (te) (vikāramugā)