gruff Hear it!

gruff Definition

gruff (gruf)

adjective

  1. rough or surly in manner or speech; brusquely rude
  2. harsh and throaty; hoarse

Etymology: < Du grof, akin to Ger grob, coarse, surly < OHG gerob < ge-, intens. + base akin to OE hreof, rough, scabby < IE base *kreup-: see graupel

gruff Related Forms
gruffly adverb gruff·ness noun
gruff Synonyms

gruff

modif.

  1. Brusque

    blunt, rough, crusty, surly; see abrupt 2, blunt 2, irritable, rude 1, 2.

  2. Hoarse

    harsh, grating, rough; see hoarse. See syn. study at blunt.

gruff Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • exterior: Here she begins to see the real man shine through his gruff exterior.
  • voice: Having such a gruff voice - all phone calls will sound like obscene phone calls.
  • vocal: I've Got Mine's failure to chart adds to its rarity value with Steve delivering a gruff vocal on the single.
  • tone: The touches and pet name were usually incongruent with the gruff tones and words.
  • man: Callender was a gruff, hearty man; affectionate but with a tendency to bully if you let him.
  • Yorkshireman: Dalziel is a gruff Yorkshireman ( aren't we all?

Modifying Another Word

  • rather: The third building on the site is a large, rather gruff brownstone on the corner of Madison Avenue.
  • very: The rest always looked very gruff, not very polished.
  • fairly: I was feeling in pretty good shape, despite waking up with a fairly gruff voice.
  • little: Admittedly, it is a little gruffer than its gasoline equivalent.
  • pretty: I'm itching to use those pretty gruff graphs, but so far I've come up dry...

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Although it has been the subject of some debate in the past, Mick's voice has become gruffer over the years.

Browse dictionary entries near gruff

  1. gruesome
  2. grueling
  3. gruel
  4. grue
  5. grudge
  6. Grubstreet
  7. grubstake
  8. Grubman, Jack
  9. grubby
  10. grub
  1. grugru
  2. gruiform
  3. grum
  4. grumble
  5. grumbling
  6. grume
  7. grummet
  8. grump
  9. grumpy
  10. Grundy