adj
Meaning 1
having a rough, surly, and harsh demeanor and nature.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
gruff
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ɡɹʌf/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian, New-Zealand: /ɡɹɐf/
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Northern-England: /ɡɹʊf/
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rhymes with -ʌf
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CMU ARPABET: G R AH1 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
hoarse-voiced.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- a gruff woman
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
hoarse.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- a gruff voice
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 4
Of goods: bulky.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: British, India
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
Alternative spelling of grough (“gully in a moor”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To speak gruffly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion- Virgil Thomson
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- gruff voices
- the dog's gruff barking
- hoarse cries
- makes all the instruments sound powerful but husky
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hoarse, husky
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 8
brusque and surly and forbidding
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- crusty remarks
- a crusty old man
- his curmudgeonly temper
- gruff manner
- a gruff reply
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: crusty, curmudgeonly, ill-humored, ill-humoured
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
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, from Proto-Germanic *grubaz (“coarse, rough”), possibly from an earlier *gahrubaz and then related with *hreubaz (“scabby, rough, scrubby”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian groaf (“rough, coarse, crude”), West Frisian grof (“rough, coarse, crude”), Low German groff (“rough, coarse, crude”), German grob (“rough, coarse, crude”), Swedish grov (“rough, coarse, crude”).
Perhaps related to Dutch grof (“rough, coarse”).
Across languages
Translations
36 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: груб (grub) — rough-, surly-natured
- Bulgarian: рязък (rjazǎk) — rough-, surly-natured
- Czech: odměřený — rough-, surly-natured
- Czech: nevrlý — rough-, surly-natured
- Czech: drsný — rough-, surly-natured
- Dutch: lomp — rough-, surly-natured
- Dutch: grof — rough-, surly-natured
- French: bourru — rough-, surly-natured
- Irish: dorrga — rough-, surly-natured
- Italian: burbero — rough-, surly-natured
- Māori: ngākaukawa — rough-, surly-natured
- Plautdietsch: ruch — rough-, surly-natured
- Romanian: aspru — rough-, surly-natured
- Romanian: grosolan — rough-, surly-natured
- Russian: гру́бый (grúbyj) — rough-, surly-natured
- Russian: неприве́тливый (neprivétlivyj) — rough-, surly-natured
- Russian: серди́тый (serdítyj) — rough-, surly-natured
- Spanish: áspero — rough-, surly-natured
- Spanish: fosco — rough-, surly-natured
- Spanish: hosco — rough-, surly-natured
- Bulgarian: прегракнал (pregraknal) — hoarse-voiced
- Bulgarian: дрезгав (drezgav) — hoarse-voiced
- Czech: drsný — hoarse-voiced
- Czech: chraplavý — hoarse-voiced
- French: rauque — hoarse-voiced
- Galician: rouco — hoarse-voiced
- Icelandic: hás — hoarse-voiced
- Icelandic: rámur — hoarse-voiced
- Ingrian: kommia — hoarse-voiced
- Irish: garg — hoarse-voiced
- Italian: rauco — hoarse-voiced
- Portuguese: rouco — hoarse-voiced
- Romanian: răgușit — hoarse-voiced
- Russian: гру́бый (grúbyj) — hoarse-voiced
- Russian: хри́плый (xríplyj) — hoarse-voiced
- Spanish: ronco — hoarse-voiced