Dictionary

gritty en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɡɹɪti/

Etymology

Etymology tree English grit Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English gritty From grit + -y.

Meanings

1. Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit; caused by grit; full of hard particles.
   • Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him. 1949 June 8, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, London: Secker & Warburg, →OCLC, Part I, Chapter I:
2. Spirited; resolute; unyielding.
   • The runt was the grittiest pup of all; for days he writhed out of one convulsion into the next—calmed from one only to go through it all over again. 1944, Emily Carr, “Poison”, in The House of All Sorts:
   • That goth woman is very gritty.
3. Intense and starkly realistic; depicting harsh reality, especially violence.

Forms

Deriveds

grittiness · nitty-gritty · grittily · ungritty

Translations (43)

fr déterminé (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · cs štěrkovitý (containing sand or grit) · pl piaszczysty (containing sand or grit) · es gravilloso (containing sand or grit) · cs odhodlaný (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · pl śmiały (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · mi māngūngungu (containing sand or grit) · hu karakán (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · pt granuloso (containing sand or grit) · de mutig (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · fr graveleux (containing sand or grit) · ka ქვიშიანი (containing sand or grit) · mi māngēngenge (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · fi inhorealistinen (intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent) · mi niwha (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · fr résolu (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · pl żwirowaty (containing sand or grit) · de ungeschminkt (intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent) · cs odvážný (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · de resolut (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · de unnachgiebig (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · it spiritoso (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · bg твърд (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · cs drsný (intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent) · hu homokos (containing sand or grit) · bg издръжлив (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · fi sisukas (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · es resoluto (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · fi hiekkainen (containing sand or grit) · de sandig (containing sand or grit) · fi peräänantamaton (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · es descarnado (intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent) · de entschlossen (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · cs písčitý (containing sand or grit) · bg песъчлив (containing sand or grit) · de wirklichkeitsnah (intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent) · es arenoso (containing sand or grit) · de grobkörnig (containing sand or grit) · ka შეუპოვარი (spirited; resolute; unyielding) · bg пясъчен (containing sand or grit) · pl realistyczny (intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent) · pt arenoso (containing sand or grit) · it coraggioso (spirited; resolute; unyielding)