grimace
/ˈɡɹɪm.əs/ noun, verb
Forms grimaces grimacing grimaced
- noun A contorted facial expression, often expressing contempt or pain. “Her face was twisted in a grimace of disgust.”
- noun (obsolete) Affectation, pretence.
- verb (intransitive) To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces.
Synonyms
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.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A distortion of the countenance, whether habitual, from affectation, or momentary aad occasional, to express some feeling, as contempt, disapprobation, complacency, etc.; a smirk; a made-up face.
- verb To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces. H. Martineau.
Etymology [F., prob. of Teutonic origin; cf. AS. gr mask, specter, Ical. gr mask, hood, perh. akin to E. grin.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “grimace”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details