Word a Day
gruff
What does gruff mean?
gruff (adjective): having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use gruff in a sentence?
- A gruff voice broke the silence. (Tatoeba sentence #3722192 by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR)
How do you pronounce gruff?
/ɡɹʌf/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does gruff come from?
16th century, from Dutch grof and/or Middle Low German grof (both “rough, coarse, rude”), from Old Dutch *grof or Old Saxon *grof, both from Proto-West Germanic *grob.
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “gruff”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “gruff” mean?
not of natural origin; prepared or made artificially
Not quite: that's what synthetic means.
having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature
Right! That's what “gruff” means.
having no job despite being able and willing to work
Not quite: that's what unemployed means.
serving an aesthetic purpose in beautifying the body
Not quite: that's what cosmetic means.
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