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grimace

gri·mace

UK/ˈɡɹɪm.əs/ US/ɡɹɪˈmeɪs/ rare obsolete
verb (1) noun (1)

verb

1.

contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state

  • “He grimaced when he saw the amount of homework he had to do”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a contorted facial expression

  • “she made a grimace at the prospect”
Synonyms

Origin

From French grimace, from Middle French grimace, from Old French grimace, grimuche, from grime (“mask”) (with the pejorative suffix -ace, from Latin -āceus), from Frankish *grīma, *grīmō (“mask”), from Proto-Germanic *grīmô (“mask, helmet”). Cognate with Old English grīma (“mask, visor, helmet, spectre, apparition”). More at grime.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.