What is the meaning of gruff?

adjective

  • Brusque and surly and forbidding.
    • usage: "crusty remarks"; "a crusty old man"; "his curmudgeonly temper"; "gruff manner"; "a gruff reply"
  • Deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion."gruff voices"; "the dog's gruff barking"; "hoarse cries"; "makes all the instruments sound powerful but husky- Virgil Thomson
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). gruff. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/gruff/definitions/1175162
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "gruff" http://smartdefine.org/gruff/definitions/1175162 (accessed September 22, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, gruff, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/gruff/definitions/1175162>.
MLAWordNet. "gruff" 23 October 2010. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/gruff/definitions/1175162>
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