Meanings
comparative grittier · superlative grittiest
- 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 - Spirited; resolute; unyielding.
That goth woman is very gritty.
1 more example
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 - broadcastingIntense and starkly realistic; depicting harsh reality, especially violence.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecomposed of or covered with particles resembling meal in texture or consistency
adjectivewilling to face danger
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian пясъчен, песъчлив
- пясъчен (pjasăčen)containing sand or grit
- песъчлив (pesăčliv)containing sand or grit
- твърд (tvărd)spirited; resolute; unyielding
- издръжлив (izdrăžliv)spirited; resolute; unyielding
Czech písčitý, štěrkovitý
- písčitýcontaining sand or grit
- štěrkovitýcontaining sand or grit
- odvážnýspirited; resolute; unyielding
- odhodlanýspirited; resolute; unyielding
- drsnýintense and starkly realistic, especially if violent
Finnish hiekkainen, sisukas
- hiekkainencontaining sand or grit
- sisukasspirited; resolute; unyielding
- peräänantamatonspirited; resolute; unyielding
- inhorealistinenintense and starkly realistic, especially if violent
French graveleux, résolu
- graveleuxcontaining sand or grit
- résoluspirited; resolute; unyielding
- déterminéspirited; resolute; unyielding
German sandig, grobkörnig
- sandigcontaining sand or grit
- grobkörnigcontaining sand or grit
- mutigspirited; resolute; unyielding
- entschlossenspirited; resolute; unyielding
- resolutspirited; resolute; unyielding
- unnachgiebigspirited; resolute; unyielding
- wirklichkeitsnahintense and starkly realistic, especially if violent
- ungeschminktintense and starkly realistic, especially if violent
Hungarian homokos, karakán
- homokoscontaining sand or grit
- karakánspirited; resolute; unyielding
Italian coraggioso, spiritoso
- coraggiosospirited; resolute; unyielding
- spiritosospirited; resolute; unyielding
Māori māngūngungu, niwha
- māngūngungucontaining sand or grit
- niwhaspirited; resolute; unyielding
- māngēngengespirited; resolute; unyielding
Polish piaszczysty, żwirowaty
- piaszczystycontaining sand or grit
- żwirowatycontaining sand or grit
- śmiałyspirited; resolute; unyielding
- realistycznyintense and starkly realistic, especially if violent
Portuguese arenoso, granuloso
- arenosocontaining sand or grit
- granulosocontaining sand or grit
Spanish gravilloso, arenoso
- gravillosocontaining sand or grit
- arenosocontaining sand or grit
- resolutospirited; resolute; unyielding
- descarnadointense and starkly realistic, especially if violent
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gritty
Cite this entry
gritty. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gritty
“gritty.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gritty. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gritty,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gritty.
Source: gritty on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.