grimly
adverb
- with expectation of a bad outcome
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɡɹɪmli/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English grymly, grimlich, from Old English grimliċ, corresponding to grim + -ly. Compare grimlike.
- Grim-looking, grim-natured.
“To hear her rant, one would have supposed, who had not seen him, that her lank-haired, grimly partner, was the prettiest youth in the county of Dublin, and that all the comely lasses in Chapelizod and the country round were sighing and setting caps at him […]”
“In reality it was the most terrifying sight I had seen to date: two fried eggs decorated with ketchup, Tabasco and chopped chillis in the semblance of a pair of bloodshot eyes – I would as soon have eaten my own leg. I waved the grimly thing away.”
adv
Etymology: From Middle English grymly, grimliche, from Old English grimlīċe, equivalent to grim + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic grimmliga.
- In a grim manner.
“He looked round and shouted grimly, "As soon as the gate is opened, you go out there - running."”
“I looked out my window / The cloud was grimly forming / Waiting for the rain I saw / The one dark cloud forming”