n. [ F., prob. of Teutonic origin; cf. AS. grīma mask, specter, Icel. grīma mask, hood, perh. akin to E. grin. ] A distortion of the countenance, whether habitual, from affectation, or momentary and occasional, to express some feeling, as contempt, disapprobation, complacency, etc.; a smirk; a made-up face. [ 1913 Webster ]

Moving his face into such a hideous grimace, that every feature of it appeared under a different distortion. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ “Half the French words used affectedly by Melantha in Dryden's ‘Marriage a-la-Mode, ’ as innovations in our language, are now in common use: chagrin, double-entendre, éclaircissement, embarras, équivoque, foible, grimace, naïvete, ridicule. All these words, which she learns by heart to use occasionally, are now in common use.” I. Disraeli. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces. H. Martineau. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Distorted; crabbed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For graymalkin; gray + malkin. ] 1. An old cat, especially a she-cat. J. Philips. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bad-tempered old woman. [ PJC ]