: a facial expression usually of disgust, disapproval, or pain
a grimace of hate and rage
grimacer
noun
grimaced; grimacing
: to distort one's face in an expression usually of pain, disgust, or disapproval
Grimacing slightly, he runs his finger over the back of his heel, where a deep … fissure has opened inside a callus.—
Chris Ballard
Chris BallardMy father shifted his weight and grimaced. The sheet slid off his injured leg, the calf swollen, purple as a plum …—Bernard Cooper
Bernard CooperSynonyms
Examples of grimace in a Sentence
Noun
The patient made a painful grimace as the doctor examined his wound.
he made a grimace when he tasted the medicine
Verb
playgoers grimaced at the actor's terrible attempt at a French accent
Recent Examples on the WebJustin Chang, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
The actor immediately suspends any seriousness, striking a cartoonish grimace until the entire crew is giggling along with him.
—EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 24 June 2024
Randle landed awkwardly on his shoulder and grimaced in pain for several moments before a team trainer accompanied him to the locker room.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 1 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grimace 
Noun
Joy and company must make room for a new set of emotions, led by Anxiety, an orange-toned bundle of nerves who talks a mile a minute, sports a passive-aggressive grimace of a smile, and offers ten solutions for every problem; even her hair seems to be multitasking.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024
The actor immediately suspends any seriousness, striking a cartoonish grimace until the entire crew is giggling along with him.
—EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
The mailman, grimacing as Roark’s teeth made contact.
—Teri Sforza, Orange County Register, 24 June 2024
Randle landed awkwardly on his shoulder and grimaced in pain for several moments before a team trainer accompanied him to the locker room.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 1 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grimace
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grimace.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near grimace
Cite this Entry
“Grimace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grimace. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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