How to Use gruff in a Sentence

gruff

adjective
  • He spoke in a gruff voice.
  • Don't be fooled by his gruff manner—he's really very kind.
  • The Old Man was short and gruff and had chin whiskers.
    — Robert Easton, Outdoor Life, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Both are ruggedly handsome, gruff and not short on ego.
    — Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
  • To many who watched from afar, Dole could seem gruff and angry.
    — David Gergen, CNN, 6 Dec. 2021
  • Also present was the gruff playwright.
    — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
  • Brosnan speaks with an accent that’s a fusion of his own silvery brogue and a gruff drawl.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Oct. 2023
  • All our gruff camera dudes and gaffers and grips and electrics, everyone was crying.
    — Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 May 2023
  • Their gruff protector dads each see them and love them as their kids — nothing more, nothing less.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023
  • Now the bearded Hurst will swap sides to lend his gruff voice and stature to the antihero role.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Jan. 2026
  • The town has a market that sells preserves and wooden bowls made by a gruff, bearded craftsman.
    — Tess Taylor, Harper's Magazine, 22 June 2021
  • Manno isn’t much of a talker, but in God’s Village his gruff words are the law.
    — Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
  • For example, there's a chatty nerd and an old, gruff general.
    — PC Magazine, 2 Dec. 2025
  • Morris Levy, the head of Roulette Records and a gruff street guy, loved Latin jazz.
    — Marc Myers, WSJ, 1 June 2021
  • Thoughts of the young girl’s plight could even drive a gruff London cabbie to tears, Akehi added.
    — Ben Croll, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023
  • There’s also a gruff expert who turns up his nose, literally, at all but the best truffles.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2021
  • Dressed in a dark suit, gray shirt and dark tie, Blackwell spoke in a low, gruff voice with a measured delivery.
    — Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2022
  • The last Dolphins coach, Brian Flores, was gruff and hard nosed.
    — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 30 July 2022
  • Pedro Pascal stars as Joel, one of video games’ most beloved gruff father figures.
    — Vulture, 3 Dec. 2022
  • And for some reason, this Willis has a different voice—a gruff bark that speaks Russian.
    — Steven Levy, WIRED, 7 Oct. 2022
  • Patterson was hired in a guest role as the gruff diner owner with a heart of gold, Luke Danes.
    — Anika Reed, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
  • And how would the famously gruff and businesslike Belichick work with nineteen-year-olds?
    — Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Sheriff’s deputies rushed into the bus, and Tyler complained about their gruff handling of students.
    — Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
  • The vocals may be gruff, but this makes a fine swansong for the internal combustion engine.
    — Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 23 Nov. 2022
  • Gee’s voice is gruff and his delivery is breathless, each line dense with drug-deal detail and matter-of-fact tales of murder.
    — Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 1 June 2022
  • Cohen’s gruff vocals, more spoken than sung, made the song sound better suited to a barroom floor than a cathedral.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Oct. 2023
  • His Walter is gruff without turning sour, determined to raise hell despite the long odds.
    — Naveen Kumar, Variety, 19 Dec. 2022
  • In a timeless, abundant land of woods, plains and water, a gruff farmer summons a timid teacher to instruct his daughter.
    — Boyd Tonkin, WSJ, 15 Sep. 2023
  • In the text, a group of gruff men at a bar finds connection by baring their souls in an impromptu singing competition.
    — William Earl, Variety, 22 Nov. 2025
  • Among their gruff voices, the grunts of a large, black hog — a Red Wattle cross — could be heard from a nearby trailer.
    — New York Times, 7 Mar. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gruff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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