i Register
In some senses, gruff is marked as British. Watch for register when choosing this word.
gruff
/ɡɹʌf/
adj 4verb 1noun 1
Collocations
5ADJ.
bottom, husky, impatient, surly, used
VERB + GRUFF
compose, looks, speaking, spoke, voice
GRUFF + NOUN
cargoes, he's, man, tenor, woman
PREP.
in
ADV.
usually
Definitions
adj
1
having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
2
hoarse-voiced.
a gruff woman
3
hoarse.
a gruff voice
verb
1
To speak gruffly.
“Who gave you that?” replied my father angrily. “Did you bribe someone?” “No,” I told him. “It was a gift, from some people who really want me to be on this trip.” “Fine,” he gruffed.
noun
1
Alternative spelling of grough (“gully in a moor”).
[…] Yorkshire and Derbyshire, where [...] the ordinary sportsman has to go "gruffing," as it is called, to game game, i. e., stealing up the "gruffs" or gullies and undulations in the ground, and trying all the clumps of long old twisted heather and broken bogs. […] the open places on the moor, and thus driving the birds forward to deep lying bogs and "gruffs" […]
They found Uttley's body on the bottom of the gruff.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
adjective — brusque and surly and forbidding
- crusty
- curmudgeonly
- ill-humored
- ill-humoured
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
a gruff woman
Wiktionary02
a gruff voice
Wiktionary03
“Who gave you that?” replied my father angrily. “Did you bribe someone?” “No,” I told him. “It was a gift, from some people who really want me to be on this trip.” “Fine,” he gruffed.
Wiktionary04
[…] Yorkshire and Derbyshire, where [...] the ordinary sportsman has to go "gruffing," as it is called, to game game, i. e., stealing up the "gruffs" or gullies and undulations in the ground, and tryi
Wiktionary05
They found Uttley's body on the bottom of the gruff.
Wiktionary06
[…] the body […] was found in a 'gruff' or gully about three-quarters of a mile from the Poacher's Leap.
WiktionaryUsage Notes
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