Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A sharp contortion of the face expressive of pain, contempt, or disgust.
 - intransitive verb To make a sharp contortion of the face.
 
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make grimaces; distort the countenance.
 - noun An involuntary or spontaneous distortion of the countenance, expressive of pain or great discomfort, or of disgust, disdain, or disapproval; a wry face.
 - noun An affected expression of the countenance, intended to indicate interest or cordiality, or petty conceit or arrogance.
 - noun Simulation of interest or sincerity; duplicity; hypocrisy.
 
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A distortion of the countenance, whether habitual, from affectation, or momentary and occasional, to express some feeling, as contempt, disapprobation, complacency, etc.; a smirk; a made-up face.
 - intransitive verb To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces.
 
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun   A distortion of the 
countenance , whether habitual, fromaffectation , or momentary and occasional, to express some feeling, as contempt, disapprobation, complacency, etc.; asmirk ; a made-up face. - verb To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces.
 
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a contorted facial expression
 - verb contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state
 
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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WORDS ACCENTED ON THE LAST SYLLABLE: address _address'_ adept _adept'_ adult _adult'_ ally _ally'_ commandant _commandänt '(ä as in arm) _ contour _contour'_ dessert _dessert'_ dilate _dilate'_ excise _eksiz'_ finance _finance'_ grimace _grimace'_ importune _importune'_ occult _occult'_ pretence _pretence'_ research _research'_ robust _robust'_ romance _romance'_ tirade _tirade'_
Practical Grammar and Composition Thomas Wood
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He hits Neng as hard as he can, smack, kick, smack, kick, then he jumps on his knees and on to his shoulders, and there isn't a single grimace from the Thai master.
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But a fleeting grimace is soon replaced with the jovial stoicism that runs through the English like rheumatism.
Perhaps I shall hire a little boat ...... Newmania 2007
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But a fleeting grimace is soon replaced with the jovial stoicism that runs through the English like rheumatism.
Archive 2007-11-11 Newmania 2007
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The expression grimace on your face is pretty funny in the photo where you are sitting on the steps with the dog at your feet.
The Big Event Megan 2008
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Timothy Goebel's mid-jump grimace is no indication of how he felt about his return to competition.
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Handsome production design and pretty faces even after being ‘broken’ by the secret police, some of the drama students remain fresh-faced with a tiny bloody streak and a grimace are the chief assets here, this is pageantry of the Hollywood kind if you go for that sort of thing.
Row Three » Welcome Year of the Rat - Where Cinema is more than just $100 Million productions 2008
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A grimace was the closest he could come to changing his facial expression, since his species wasn't exactly geared for smiling, frowning, and other human-like actions.
Fire on High Peter David 1998
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A grimace was the closest he could come to changing his facial expression, since his species wasn't exactly geared for smiling, frowning, and other human-like actions.
Fire on High Peter David 1998
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A grimace was the closest he could come to changing his facial expression, since his species wasn't exactly geared for smiling, frowning, and other human-like actions.
Fire on High Peter David 1998
 
oroboros commented on the word grimace
Did I just hear Tom Brokaw pronounce "grimaces" with a long a? Wow!
January 21, 2009
			
		
	
agustinolvera commented on the word grimace
Eclispe by Stephenie Meyer Page 82
-"I glanced, wide eyed, from Edwards grimace to Jacobs sneer."
November 1, 2010