gruff
adj 1: brusque and surly and forbidding; "crusty remarks"; "a
crusty old man"; "his curmudgeonly temper"; "gruff
manner"; "a gruff reply" [syn: crusty, curmudgeonly,
gruff, ill-humored, ill-humoured]
2: 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 [syn: gruff, hoarse, husky]
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Gruff \Gruff\ (gr[u^]f), a. [Compar. Gruffer (gr[u^]f"[~e]r);
superl. Gruffest.] [D. grof; akin to G. grob, OHG. gerob,
grob, Dan. grov, Sw. grof, perh. akin to AS. rc['o]fan to
break, Z. reavc, rupture, g- standing for the AS. prefix ge-,
Goth. ga-.]
Of a rough or stern manner, voice, or countenance; sour;
surly; severe; harsh. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
Gruff, disagreeable, sarcastic remarks. --Thackeray.
-- Gruff"ly, adv. -- Gruff"ness, n.
[1913 Webster]
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