gruff
adjective/ɡrʌf/
Frequency rank: #15,570 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)
Meaning
rough or stern in manner or voice; unfriendly-sounding.
Example sentence
The old security guard spoke in gruff tones, but he was actually very kind.
Synonyms & related words
More words in ranks 15,501–15,600
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