gruff
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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For someone whose notoriety has twice become inseparable from who he’s married to, Pitt’s choice to play gruff loners feels noticeably calculated, keeping an arm’s distance between his work and the audience.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Known for his gruff vocals, LaMontagne first came to the scene in the early aughts as a timid troubadour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
As Morrison jammed in the kitchen, Hansard said his request for one of his songs was met with a gruff response from Morrison.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Senate, the gruff oysterman opened with a joke.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
“That’s all right!” said a deep, gruff voice from within.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
Pos and Dave sound older and gruffer, as they should, but their trademark wit and verbal dexterity are still in prime form.
From Slate ● Aug. 30, 2016
Tanto is louder, Oz is gruffer, Rone is an old friend of Jack's from past tours of duty.
From The Verge ● Jan. 14, 2016
What light can Billy Joel shed on “Maybe I’m Amazed” or “Live and Let Die” when the only difference between Joel and McCartney’s performances is Joel’s slightly gruffer voice?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2014
Bob Knight, his mentor long ago, is older and gruffer.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2013
I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
Possessing one of the sharpest minds in the business, Prince was one of its gruffest truth-tellers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2019
Here bringing heart to what could be a harsh cad, in even his his gruffest, roughest performances, Finney always found an emotional center that allowed audiences in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2019
“Loving you is complicated,” he announces, in his gruffest tone: the “you” is himself, hip-hop, and his own success.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 18, 2015
Mr. Bradlee looked up from his omnipresent crossword puzzle, “and in his gruffest voice,” Pincus recalled, “he said, ‘You ought to be paying me for all the fun you’re having.’ ”
From Washington Post
"Chug-a-rum!" replied Grandfather Frog in his deepest, gruffest voice.
From Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess
Vocabulary lists containing gruff
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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Auggie & Me
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