How To Use Gruff In A Sentence

his voice was gruff but there was still a hint of anxiousness in his tone.
The evidence she’d gathered at the beach had already arrived, delivered by a young tech who’d sheepishly entered the den of the legendary Lincoln Rhyme without a word and scurried about to deposit the bags and stacks of pictures as the criminalist gruffly directed. The Stone Monkey
He has become gruff and cold, a far cry from the playful, expansive carouser and rabble-rouser of the film's opening scenes. Come and Get It
His gruff manner always belied a kindness in him that all his close friends knew he had.
She was plain-featured, and had rather a severe expression on her face; her dress was as rich as any morning dress could be; her voice deep and unmodulated, -- what in a lower rank of life would have been called gruff; but that was not a word to apply to Lady Cuxhaven, the eldest daughter of the earl and countess. Wives and Daughters

The first Humphrey’s latitu-dinous baver with puggaree behind, (calaboose belong bigboss belong Kang the Toll) his fourinhand bow, his elbaroom surtout, the refaced unmansionables of gingerine hue, the state slate umbrella, his gruff woolselywellesly with the finndrinn knopfs and the gauntlet upon the hand which in an hour not for him solely evil had struck down the might he mighthavebeen d’Est-erre of whom his nation seemed almost already to be about to have need. Finnegans Wake
Some of the older pros were rough and gruff which must have influenced me. Kevin Keegan - Black and White
“He’s behaved like a perfect peeg!” she said gruffly, pronouncing the word cochon as though she referred to Joan of Arc’s contemporary, Bishop Cauchon. Within a Budding Grove
They can be seen as rough and gruff bandits of the road. The Sun
The male pads about, calling to females with gruff barks. Times, Sunday Times
A gruff nod of counter-hommage? The Times Literary Supplement
The male pads about, calling to females with gruff barks. Times, Sunday Times
There is something old-fashioned in his manner which may explain why he excels as gruff authority figures and flinty men of the West.
So it's funny to be very habituated to watching regular wildebeests which are kind of gruff and intense looking and tough, and then come across the back wildebeests and watch them stotting around the landscape like, in comparison to the regular model gnu, dancers in a Baz Luhrmann production. ScienceBlogs Channel : Life Science
Despite his usual gruff demeanor, he was impressed with the vessel. THE X FILES 3: GROUND ZERO
Chickens scratched in the company of a stately, gruff-voiced, very respectable pig, rooting under a walnut tree.
It shows a gruff, bewigged figure holding a sheet of music. Times, Sunday Times
The body of the men remained in the clearing, conversing in knots, while two miners, buirdly fellows, rather gruffer of tongue than the rest, went to the office to act as spokesmen. A Son of Hagar A Romance of Our Time
A moment later, the intercom chirped and a deeply gruff voice spoke from the speaker.
Your choice to ignore your responsibilities and then sit around gruffly barking at passersby is just that, your choice. Think Progress » Dick Morris: ‘Civil War Is Progress’ In Iraq
You can pick up the odd book-related soft toy too, such as the Gruffalo and the rebel of the leporine world, Peter Rabbit. Independent bookshops in south-east England
What is it about spring training that reduces normally gruff sportswriters to the patois of travel brochures?
The warder, whose name was Li and who disliked the gruff and unsociable criminal, was mystified to see a Korean looking after a Chinese with brotherly care.
'Nice bloke, Firenze,' he said gruffly 'but he don' know what he's talkin 'abou' on this. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The actor gives his usual gruff delivery, meant to convince us he's honest.
The populace had grown so hardened to artists that gruff-voiced lesbians in corduroy breeches and young men in Grecian or medieval costume could walk the streets without attracting a glance, and along the Seine banks Notre Dame it was almost impossible to pick ones way between the sketching-stools. Inside the Whale
Forsooth she wondered that the stark and gruff old man was so changed to her in little space; for nought she knew as yet how the sight of her cast a hot gleed of love into the hearts of them who beheld her. The Water of the Wondrous Isles
From the brief synopses above you'll notice that all the stories are the same: gruff, tough men with soft spots for women go through hell to avenge or save them!
The whole “gruff and edgy” husband/father based sitcom is a concept that currently does not have a strong showing on tv already. Fall 2009 TV Preview! « Giant Killer Squid - Film, Comics, News, Reviews and more
His manner can be rather gruff.
Instead of making his usual gruff request for leftover bannock and tea, Korgak smiled and told his sister that he hadn't touched alcohol for three weeks.
Rather than leaning on his appealingly gruff Neil Diamond pipes to articulate personal stories of drunkenness and hardscrabble redemption, Bachmann takes a more imaginative approach here.
Gruffydd’s sword glimmered violet in the dying light as he reached into his pouch for the last potion. Arowin's Return
He suddenly felt a rough rope around his neck and a gruff voice said to him, ‘Let go of the globe.’
Doves The Man Who Told Everything There was a time when people thought Elbow deserved to be as popular as their fellow gruff, rain-soaked Mancunian songsmiths, Doves. F&M playlist
In a gruff voice, he gave the man a piece of his mind. The Politics of Redress - crime, punishment and penal abolition
They are gruff and surly beings, generally compared in nature to humans.
The rough, tough, gruff trope is stolen from In the Red by the late Mark Tavener, an early stalwart of the Liberal Revue. House Points: Eric Pickles and MPs' expenses
The gruffness took on a softer tone, sounding almost sympathetic.
It was quite comical watching these gruff geezers peering under the van trying to coax the kitten out, making cooing noises at it, etc.
Dinwiddie could be a gruff man, and he guarded his prerogatives, so he had one conflict after another with the House of Burgesses, which he usually prorogued dismissed if it did not do his bidding. George Washington’s First War
Your new friend is just going to walk up to you, introduce itself rather gruffly, hand you a few forms to fill out, and move right on in.
Soon the middle Billy Goat Gruff came across the bridge with a louder trip-trap sound.
I re-called the gruff warning Bezers -- even Bezers, and there was something very odd in Bezers giving a warning! The House of the Wolf; a romance
Both times Darren said he heard a gruff male voice in the background speaking angrily in rapid fire French.
Some of the older pros were rough and gruff which must have influenced me. Kevin Keegan - Black and White
Dave has a big, deep, booming gruff voice - that sounds like he gargles with gravel every single morning.
Despite a gruff exterior, he was regarded as one of the most decent men in the music industry, always ready to mentor young songwriters. Times, Sunday Times
A gruff officer was waiting for him, reeking of coffee, the edge of his brown mustache darkened by a recent beverage. DO NO HARM
She was brought sharply back to earth by the gruff voice of the landlord yelling in her ear
Come to me, he said in a gruff voice. Times, Sunday Times
After five rings, I was about to hang up, when I heard a gruff voice answer.
Thus McCarthy occasionally came across as gruff or grouchy in this World Cup and some reporters took delight in this.
His gruff manner always belied a kindness in him that all his close friends knew he had.
Rather shamefaced, he stood back and said gruffly, `Let her go, Lucas, a joke's a joke but we've gone far enough. NOBLE BEGINNNINGS
A gruff voice snarled from a dark corner behind them.
`No,' he replied gruffly
Noise is the first consideration for a successful befana, noise of any kind, shrill, gruff, high, low -- any sort of noise; and the first purchase of everyone who comes must be a tin horn, a pipe, or one of those grotesque little figures of painted earthenware, representing some characteristic type of Ave Roma Immortalis, Vol. 1 Studies from the Chronicles of Rome
I couldn't help laughing at his abrupt, gruff delivery of the estimate.
He picked up the phone expecting to hear the chairman's gruff voice.
(On this gruffness, Brooks waxes: "He's managed to preserve the patois of Chicago, the earthy freneticism of his Augie March upbringing.") John Wellington Ennis: How Rahm Bombed
But despite his gruff exterior, it's obvious that his time in student journalism meant something to him.
His voice was rather gruff but there was kindness in his blue eyes.
They spoke little for they were tired, but Sean could feel the gratitude of the men who sat beside him and before they rolled into their blankets Jan Paulus said gruffly, Thank you, kerel., When the Lion Feeds
He is as gruff as a bulldog's bark, yet underneath the hoary rock 'n' roll bluster, Lemmy, author of songs such as ‘Die You Bastard,’ is curiously old fashioned and a stickler for good manners.
But I think if I were a man, I'd be a real toughie, a kind of a gruff - I'd be a man's man.
And yes, there is something quite funny about gruff old Churchill learning the power of the way. Times, Sunday Times
The term "debate" itself was debatable: the two agreed on so much that some viewers wondered if they were seeing the genesis of a Gingrich-Huntsman presidential ticket - the gruff elder statesman and the photogenic former governor. Reuters: Press Release
Just waiting," answered Jake's dad, his voice slipping into the gruff tone it could take on when they travelled into rural Alaska, when he moved closer into the country that had roughened and raised him. The Place He Had to Go
He disliked his schooldays, although he was a useful rugby player and remembered with deep gratitude "Joe" Craddock, a master who proved kindly under his gruff exterior, and who chivvied the boys in his German class to such effect that Judt still commanded the language more than 40 years on. Tony Judt obituary
The alien yelled, using his gruff voice, to his friends, who were standing just out of Leanne's line of sight.
gruff manner
Or, possibly, a union rally for lumberjacks, stevedores or teamsters - there were a lot of gruff, hefty, plaid-shirted figures in attendance.
A gruff-looking guy, sixtyish, leans against the counter. Can You Survive The Zombie Apocalypse?
Doctors found the cleome a glioma a gruff growth in the supportive tissue of the brain.
He was an odd mixture of awkwardness and complacency, a desire to be courteous struggling with a desire to show his independence; he had no ease of manner, no bonhomie, but a gruff and ugly kind of jocosity, which I am sure was not really natural to him, but was his protest against the possibility of my considering him to be shy. The Silent Isle
Just beneath his gruff exterior lies a gentle soul seeking to fill a spiritual void with companionship.
After all the helloing and such, he would sit down and talk to me in a gruff, military kind of way.
The gruff, strangulated tones seemed to reflect the woman's petulant desires and suffocated potential, making her initially quite grotesque but ultimately deeply sympathetic.
I was shown round by this gruff old foreman and learnt how to make beer. Times, Sunday Times
Beneath that gruff exterior lies, well, a gruff interior. Times, Sunday Times
A gruff man with a short temper and a big voice, his shortcomings were as obvious as his merits were hidden.
But the concierge at the Astoria was unhelpful, gruff almost.
He took down the receiver with no undue haste and answered the call gruffly, but his bored expression changed rapidly as he listened. The Shadow of the East
Worf answers gruffily, He must have been programmed at a faster than usual speed. Archive 2009-01-01
The Province will run full colour parliamentary pull-outs with puns in the headlines, while gruff white dudes talk about global politics in hyper-masculine voices.
At first Robber Mother answered in short, gruff sentences, but by degrees she became more subdued and listened more intently. Christmas in Legend and Story A Book for Boys and Girls
He uses the same ingredients dependably: gruff, heartfelt singing, stinging blues-rock riffage, folky balladry, spoonfuls of psychedelia and guest spots.
Inspector Morse - Gruffly drinks beer and does crosswords in Oxford
It is a land of sourdoughs and cheechacos - the first, the veridical Alaskans, who sport gruff beards, wear carhartts, and fed the yeast in their dough (hence their names) straight since the gold rush of 1907.
He had a deep, gruff voice, and he said some things that bothered her.
Worf answers gruffily, "He must have been programmed at a faster than usual speed. Captain Picard's Journal
While yet we dread for the coming event, and the fight which would jar on the morning, behold the grandmother of sows, gruffly grunting right and left with muzzle which no ring may tame (not being matrimonial), hulks across between the two, moving all each side at once, and then all of the other side as if she were chined down the middle, and afraid of spilling the salt from her. Lorna Doone
Erik's smile faded away quickly when three gruff looking men approached him.
He's quite a sweet man beneath the gruff exterior.
You wenched and fought and sang and gorged and swilled and adventured, you were a hard worker when we needed work done and a better yet man to have at my back when we needed that and in your rough gruff style a pretty good husband and father whenever we settled down a while. The Boat of a Million Years
Gruff and inordinately self-reliant, Gordon was highly conservative in attitude, theology, and lifestyle.
His manner was gruff, and I could see his eyes were wet.
Holden's voice was gruff, almost as if he were close to tears. Anti-Ice
My uncle was a gruff but affectionate character who wore a beret, blue coveralls and smoked hand-rolled cigarettes.
He picked up the phone expecting to hear the chairman's gruff voice.
The gruff man had pointed to the back of the store, past the mostly empty shelves, behind the dilapidated and rusted freezer that didn't work, and next to the storage room roughly marked ‘STOOREAGE’ in an inartistic graffiti style.
gruff voices
the dog's gruff barking
Adams crowed, his gruff unattractive voice suddenly the most golden tone Daniel had ever heard.
Finally, Palin is surrounded by a full cast of characters that couldn't be improved by Central Casting -- kindly but gruff grandpa Chuck, handsome rugged dogsledder/fisherman/Mr. Mom Todd, adorable feisty daughter Piper and good girl gone bad gone good again, daughter Bristol. Bonnie Fuller: Sarah Palin's Alaska Should NOT Be Cancelled -- It's Great TV & Brilliant Marketing!
And yet he has a modicum of charm and a world of vulnerability beneath his gruff booze-addled exterior.
His son was a perfect partner to the gruff father, more quietly spoken and happy to deal with senior financiers. Times, Sunday Times
Scruffmcgruff dude diddy's face on that picture is one of the more terrifying looks i've ever witnessed. bring this flick on. also, the plot synopsis decribing aldous as "walking sex. Get Him to the Greek: One Week Earlier | /Film
And yes, there is something quite funny about gruff old Churchill learning the power of the way. Times, Sunday Times
Then, an off-the-cuff remark by a bookshop owner who gruffly suggested she should write something of her own changed the course of her life.
The cantankerous old lady she had worked for for six years had been good to her, in her gruff way.
The lady who was cooking came out and kind of gruffly asked James, who speaks no Spanish, if that was really what he wanted. Part 15: El Camino de Santiago
He's a gruff, funny guy who knows exactly how to deliver the hokey, disjointed dialogue.
His lyrics are honest, unsparing, splenetic yet gruffly humorous.
I think he enjoyed putting on this gruff manner to frighten people, but underneath he was a bit of a softie.
LONDON—The massy concrete construction of the Hayward Gallery is usually considered a gruff example of Brutalist architecture, but Tracey Emin is pleased to be having a huge retrospective, "Love Is What You Want," there, even saying she finds its internal, curving spaces feminine. You Can Have Too Much of What You Want
Beneath his gruff exterior, he's really very kind-hearted.
He touched his cap at the Deity's name, and called gruffly at his son: Privy Seal His Last Venture
The male pads about, calling to females with gruff barks. Times, Sunday Times
“Dinna want to scare you off,” he said, then added in a gruff tone, “Though it bluidy happened anyway.” Kresley Cole Immortals After Dark: The Clan MacRieve
Despite a gruff exterior, he was regarded as one of the most decent men in the music industry, always ready to mentor young songwriters. Times, Sunday Times
Come in," Billiard called gruffly in response to her knock, though inwardly he was quaking with fear lest it might be the sheriff or Uncle Tabitha's Vacation
The good-looking, clean-cut boys with their excellent manners and friendly dispositions tunneled through Papa's gruff exterior and became his friends.
In fact, from what I understand via this gruff, unamused, and obviously overworked nurse, white Vaseline is used in dermal allergy testing as a base.
The core message seems to be that saving lives is still noble, and the people who do it best have hearts of gold, even if that heart is buried under a gruff exterior.
These include a sticky-fingered hippie named McGruff, a friendly gondolier, and his good-hearted mother.
She came in, pushed the door to, stood close to my bed-side and said again gruffly, "What is it? Prisons and Prisoners: Some Personal Experiences
My uncle was a gruff but affectionate character who wore a beret, blue coveralls and smoked hand-rolled cigarettes.
Gruff, inhospitable, and monolingual, the Russians sprawl in folding chairs, kibitz around card tables, smoke in defiance of ‘no smoking ‘signs, and studiously ignore customers who stray past their booths.
The Three Billy Goats Gruff were on their way to find greener grass in a mountain saeter summer pasture, so no wonder the troll got short shrift. Old English gods and myths: Eotens
First Impression: Harley is described as a gruff, nasty, and rebellious biker. 5-Star Baby Name Advisor
The voice is gruff, pure Gotham. Times, Sunday Times
Under the gruff exterior was a gentle and sensitive man with a generous spirit.
He was sometimes a gruff and temperamental man, but his sense of humour came through in so many of his finest songs.
Just then came a knock at the door of the hut, and a gruff voice asked them to open the door. The Treasure Seekers
A gruff officer was waiting for him, reeking of coffee, the edge of his brown mustache darkened by a recent beverage. DO NO HARM
Some of the older pros were rough and gruff which must have influenced me. Kevin Keegan - Black and White
“And have chosen wrong subjects to practise your fooleries upon,” said the farther one, still more gruffly. Quentin Durward
Unfortunately, too much of Blige's appeal is wrapped up in her gruff, streetwise persona and not enough is focused on her enjoyable but often pedestrian musical instincts.
The speaker was a gruff man, short and stout, with a raggedy moustache and a balding head.
In New Zealand, Theodore and Jonas hook up with a gruff gunrunner named McNiff.
There is something old-fashioned in his manner which may explain why he excels as gruff authority figures and flinty men of the West.
Based on his writing style, I imagined him a kind of playful, comedian's voice, when his real voice is quite gruff.
I responded nay, three times nay, though my manner had become rather gruff, and I was curt with them.
She reached out, put a hand upon Gruffydd's arm, as if seeking to placate him, and said softly. HERE BE DRAGONS
j `Nothing to be grateful about," said the old man gruffly. A WORM OF DOUBT
He heard a gruff voice saying: "Ah'm no so sairtain o 'it mesel'," which seemed to accord with the name of Leatham's skipper, and then came Benson's voice raised in agreement. The Pit Prop Syndicate
His voice was gruff, but with a certain intellectual refinement to it.
An old tale which has a literary form unusual in its approach to the perfect literary form, is the Norse, _The Three Billy-Goats Gruff_, told by Dasent in _Tales from the Norse_. A Study of Fairy Tales
In a gruff voice, he gave the man a piece of his mind. The Politics of Redress - crime, punishment and penal abolition
Often these protagonists seem gruff and unapproachable, even privileged and elitist, at least at first, perhaps concealing a painful shyness and a need for privacy.
I smiled, glad to see that beneath his gruff exterior, dwelt a real person who appreciated good literature.
A gruff voice came from his left as he reached the mouth of the cave.
He called gruffly into the silence of the house, and his speech held the surliness of his attitude. Pardners
He has a gruff voice, is thought to be a smoker and often smells of drink.
It was soothing to hear his gruff voice, reassuring me.
It is his kind, if rather terse and gruff manner that has turned his shop into an excellent meeting place for people and ideas.
There is parchment and pen and inkwell on the table, Gruffydd. HERE BE DRAGONS
He stumbled over a box that he had missed before, swore, and called a gruff hello. Skyrider
A gruff officer was waiting for him, reeking of coffee, the edge of his brown mustache darkened by a recent beverage. DO NO HARM
Both sexes talked gruffly about needing to lean forward in the foxhole, meaning "to anticipate," and to break contact, meaning "to leave. Peace is Hell
Holding his hands out placatingly, Shipley dropped his gruff tone. EMPIRE
And I met the man playing Baron Von Trapp, the gruff and grumpy Naval officer widower whose heart she melts.
Soon after he had the crowd's attention with his tight rhymes, gruff voice, and theatrical delivery.
I couldn't help laughing at his abrupt, gruff delivery of the estimate.
She reached out, put a hand upon Gruffydd's arm, as if seeking to placate him, and said softly. HERE BE DRAGONS
He has settled into a routine of hard-drinking bachelor gruffness.
He'd been traveling all day and was looking for a good place to make camp when he heard the gruff voices laughing and talking loudly.
Wayne annoys me, and Alfred doesn't have the dry sense of humor he once did, instead now seeming an uptight, gruff type.
Just then came a knock at the door of the hut, and a gruff voice asked them to open the door. The Treasure Seekers
Snotty young otter told us we'd find you here, " the other Percheron declared gruffly. The Lives of Felix Gunderson
A young man with close-cropped hair stuck his head out and said gruffly, ‘Mr. Blowfish will see you now.’
HE'S the gruff, bluff detective who's as likely to bawl you out for making bad tea as to snap the handcuffs on a villain - so would you let him loose in a fighter jet?
Mcgruff uh, is that tobey maguire south texas terror revenge of the nerds meets X-men directed by Seth Green hell no! Meli Seth Green to Direct Freshmen Comic Book Movie | /Film
He clicks it on and off in a gruff, ominous way; then says -- And I nonetheless would advise you to rephrase the question. THE CHEEK PERFORATION DANCE
Within seconds my accent and gruff voice had won her over and she asked me how quickly I could get to Surrey.
j `Nothing to be grateful about," said the old man gruffly. A WORM OF DOUBT
Though Bruce Springsteen's gruff bark is an uncomfortable fit with Davies's camp quaver, they recast Better Things as a Byrdsy ramble that's an improvement on the original's clumping new wave. Ray Davies: See My Friends - review
Warden is both gruff and gentle, and his performance is probably the most important supporting role in the movie.
Make up your own silly opposites, such as a high, squeaky voice and a low, gruff voice.
His manner can be rather gruff.
The voice is gruff, pure Gotham. Times, Sunday Times
When he pulled away, his father laughed down at him and spoke in the gruff-yet-gentle voice that was so familiar to his ears.
To his friends the Orc was gruff, even rude, but deep inside he was all bark and no bite.
His personality is more surprising: the gruff, taciturn public image back home turns out to be a myth.
Critics describe a Garbo deep gruff voice like the Alto, with incredible arias like magic.
He clicks it on and off in a gruff, ominous way; then says -- And I nonetheless would advise you to rephrase the question. THE CHEEK PERFORATION DANCE
Halloo, who's that?" called a gruff voice from the darkness, the hail proving more startling than the first surprise. Cowmen and Rustlers A Story of the Wyoming Cattle Ranges
I'm not talking about the loveable grump who means well, or some kind of gruff tough guy with a spongy-soft interior.
I was shown round by this gruff old foreman and learnt how to make beer. Times, Sunday Times
Gruffudd now allied himself with Ælfgār, son of Earl Leofric of Mercia, who had been deprived of his earldom of East Anglia by Harold Godwinson and his brothers. Kings and Princes
They are inherently unbalanced, which is what makes them sound all gruff and rumbly. Times, Sunday Times
Holden's voice was gruff, almost as if he were close to tears. Anti-Ice
‘Cleaning more than fifty rooms in twelve hours is harder than it seems,’ he replied gruffly.
Doc knocked him back, expostulating gruffly, then tucked the sock firmly into a battered boot. BEHINDLINGS
‘Cut along now to bed,’ he added gruffly; ‘we'll have to be up like larks to-morrow.’
They smiled, shrugged off our thanks, told us gruffly to keep up the work, and told us to come back sometime, anytime.
The words of his publishers come winging back: ‘He might sound a bit gruff if he's not expecting you, but Harry's lovely.’
Rough ‘n’ tough, the guitars are detuned again, that unforgettable gruff voice is angry and the drums break a snooze-inducing pace.

How To Use Gruff In A Sentence

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