grimace
Plural: grimaces
Noun
- a contorted facial expression
- "she made a grimace at the prospect"
- A contorted facial expression, often expressing contempt or pain.
- Affectation, pretence.
Verb
Verb Forms: grimaced, grimacing, grimaces
- To contort the facial features, expressing pain or disapproval.
- contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
- "He grimaced when he saw the amount of homework he had to do"
- To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces.
Examples
- He couldn’t help but grimace when his opponent scored another bingo.
- Her face was twisted in a grimace of disgust.
Origin / Etymology
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.
Synonyms
face, make a face, pull a face
Scrabble Score: 12
grimace: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordgrimace: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
grimace: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary