grudge

[gruhj]

noun

1. a feeling of ill will or resentment.

   to hold a grudge against a former opponent.

   Synonyms: hatred, enmity, malevolence, rancor, bitterness

adjective

1. done, arranged, etc., in order to settle a grudge.

   The middleweight fight was said to be a grudge match.

verb (used with object)

grudged, grudging 

1. to give or permit with reluctance; submit to unwillingly.

   The other team grudged us every point we scored.

2. to resent the good fortune of (another); begrudge.

   A lot of people grudge those billionaires all that money.

   Synonyms: envy

verb (used without object)

grudged, grudging 

1. Obsolete.,  to feel dissatisfaction or ill will.

grudge

/ ɡrʌdʒ /

noun

1. a persistent feeling of resentment, esp one due to some cause, such as an insult or injury

2. (modifier) planned or carried out in order to settle a grudge

   a grudge fight

verb

1. (tr) to give or allow unwillingly

2. to feel resentful or envious about (someone else's success, possessions, etc)

Other Word Forms

• grudgeless adjective
• grudger noun
• ungrudged adjective
• grudgingly adverb
• grudging adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of grudge¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English grudgen, gruggen, variant of gruchen, from Old French gro(u)c(h)ier, from Germanic; compare Middle High German grogezen “to complain, cry out”

Word History and Origins

Origin of grudge¹

C15: from Old French grouchier to grumble, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old High German grunnizōn to grunt

Idioms and Phrases

see bear a grudge; nurse a grudge.

Synonym Study

Grudge, malice, spite refer to ill will held against another or others. A grudge is a feeling of resentment harbored because of some real or fancied wrong: to hold a grudge because of jealousy; She has a grudge against him. Malice is the state of mind that delights in doing harm, or seeing harm done, to others, whether expressing itself in an attempt seriously to injure or merely in sardonic humor: malice in watching someone's embarrassment; to tell lies about someone out of malice. Spite is petty, and often sudden, resentment that manifests itself usually in trifling retaliations: to reveal a secret out of spite.

Example Sentences

Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel “Vineland,” the film transplants the book’s tangle of political grudges to a modern-day context of former activists forced back together when their long-vanished enemy resurfaces.

From Los Angeles Times

Nights that once cooled now hold the day’s heat like a grudge.

From Los Angeles Times

"It would be detrimental for them to look past us, but that's their problem. I understand a grudge match with my neighbours. I can't pretend there's not history there," she said.

From BBC

But there was a sense, a grudging willingness among these Labour voters to give Sir Keir and the government more time.

From BBC

The ceasefire ended the bloodiest bout of violence in the decades-long grudge match between Iran and Israel, but the hours after its immediate announcement saw some of the fiercest fighting in the 12-day war.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• animosity 
• animus 
• antipathy 
• bad blood 
• bitterness 
• enmity 
• grievance 
• hard feelings 
• hate 
• hatred 
• ill will 
• injustice 
• malice 
• rancor 
• resentment 

When To Use

What does grudge mean?

A grudge is a feeling of anger, bitterness, or resentment toward someone for something they did, especially a wrong that you think they committed against you.The word grudge is typically used to refer to such a feeling when it has been held for a long period of time—often longer than is considered normal.For that reason, grudge is often used in phrases like hold a grudge, nurse a grudge, bear a grudge, and harbor a grudge. Grudges are usually directed toward people, but a person can hold a grudge against a group or an entity like a company or organization. The word grudge is often followed by the word against and whom or what the grudge is directed toward, as in Your father still holds a grudge against that pizzeria for getting his order wrong that one time. A grudge match is a competition, such as a boxing match, between opponents who have (or are depicted as having) some specific, personal reason for being bitter rivals.Less commonly, grudge can be used as a verb meaning to resent or envy someone else’s good fortune, as in Don’t grudge them for their success. The related verb begrudge can be used to mean the same thing. Grudge can also mean to give or allow with reluctance or unwillingness, as in My company has grudged me every raise I have requested. The verb begrudge doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as this sense of grudge. Specifically, begrudge often means to be reluctant to give or allow—as opposed to meaning to give or allow reluctantly.Example: She has held a grudge against me ever since I beat her in the spelling bee in fifth grade.