grimly
/ˈɡɹɪmli/adverb
grimly is spelled G-R-I-M-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, grimly means “In a grim manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in grimly?
| Letters | 6: G-R-I-M-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is grimly?
Grimly appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce grimly?
- /ˈɡɹɪmli/
Grimly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-grimly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of grimly
- grimlier comparative
- grimliest superlative
- more grimly comparative
- most grimly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does grimly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a grim manner.
adjective
- 1
archaicGrim-looking, grim-natured.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Grimly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a grim manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sinistrement |
| German | grimmig |
| Portuguese | sombriamente, sinistramente |
| Spanish | sombríamente, torvamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does grimly come from?
From Middle English grymly, grimliche, from Old English grimlīċe, equivalent to grim + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic grimmliga.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).