Definitions
Rough, stern, or harsh in voice or manner.
Word origin
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”).
Used in a sentence
“a gruff woman”
“a gruff voice”
““Who gave you that?” replied my father angrily. “Did you bribe someone?” “No,” I told him. “It was a gift, from some people who really want me to be on this trip.” “Fine,” he gruffed.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Harsh in voice”5 letters
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