How to Use gruff in a Sentence

gruff

adjective
Definition of gruffnext
Synonyms for gruffnext
  • He spoke in a gruff voice.
  • Don't be fooled by his gruff manner—he's really very kind.
  • The flat-six fires with a gruff growl, then settles to a breathy idle.
    — Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2021
  • Terry came across as gruff and crass on the phone that day.
    — Jessica Lucas, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2023
  • Morris Levy, the head of Roulette Records and a gruff street guy, loved Latin jazz.
    — Marc Myers, WSJ, 1 June 2021
  • To many who watched from afar, Dole could seem gruff and angry.
    — David Gergen, CNN, 6 Dec. 2021
  • However, the lines are long and the service can be gruff.
    — Liza B. Zimmerman, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2022
  • But maybe that hasn’t happened—and your boss’s gruff, blunt style is getting to you.
    — TIME, 18 Oct. 2023
  • Manno isn’t much of a talker, but in God’s Village his gruff words are the law.
    — Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
  • Thoughts of the young girl’s plight could even drive a gruff London cabbie to tears, Akehi added.
    — Ben Croll, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023
  • Cavanaugh is an old-school coach who can appear a bit gruff.
    — Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 27 June 2022
  • The last Dolphins coach, Brian Flores, was gruff and hard nosed.
    — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2022
  • Ben Chaplin haunts the margins of the show as Frank Mundi, a gruff detective with a heart of gold.
    — Darren Franich, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2021
  • The gruff rapping dude is an alien who gets teleported.
    — Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 15 Aug. 2023
  • Brosnan speaks with an accent that’s a fusion of his own silvery brogue and a gruff drawl.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Oct. 2023
  • Among their gruff voices, the grunts of a large, black hog — a Red Wattle cross — could be heard from a nearby trailer.
    — New York Times, 7 Mar. 2022
  • Dressed in a dark suit, gray shirt and dark tie, Blackwell spoke in a low, gruff voice with a measured delivery.
    — Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2022
  • And for some reason, this Willis has a different voice—a gruff bark that speaks Russian.
    — Steven Levy, WIRED, 7 Oct. 2022
  • One person can even be seeing playing the drums on a makeshift stage while Jon Bon Jovi’s gruff voice blasts from the speakers.
    — Christi Carrasstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2022
  • All our gruff camera dudes and gaffers and grips and electrics, everyone was crying.
    — Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 May 2023
  • The town has a market that sells preserves and wooden bowls made by a gruff, bearded craftsman.
    — Tess Taylor, Harper's Magazine, 22 June 2021
  • The scrappy ragtag team, the gruff but kind coach, the against-the-odds triumph — sports dramas rarely veer far from a basic template.
    — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Dec. 2023
  • His body was covered in sweat, his voice was gruff, and thousands of people in the room went from boisterous to silent, sideswiped by DMX’s gospel.
    — New York Times, 9 Apr. 2021
  • Sheriff’s deputies rushed into the bus, and Tyler complained about their gruff handling of students.
    — Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
  • Their gruff protector dads each see them and love them as their kids — nothing more, nothing less.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023
  • Pedro Pascal stars as Joel, one of video games’ most beloved gruff father figures.
    — Vulture, 3 Dec. 2022
  • Ernest Hemingway, born in the last year of the 19th century, seemed to embody the kind of gruff masculinity that John Wayne would’ve looked up to.
    — Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 10 June 2021
  • The fact that Siegfried, played by Samuel West, is still grieving his late wife adds a touch of poignancy to matters, too; most of the show’s gruff or spiky characters have a soft side.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 16 Aug. 2021
  • Silly stuff with Cold War overtones, extreme whimsy, and gruff British wit.
    — WIRED, 16 Jan. 2023
  • One of those gruff-but-amiable types, Schroeder punctuates his sentences with loud, quick laughs that echo across the waters of the lagoon.
    — Matt Tunseth For The Daily News, Anchorage Daily News, 31 May 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gruff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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