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The English language has been carrying a grudge for a long time—since the 13th century to be exact, when it took the Anglo-French verb grucher/grucer and made it grucchen/grudgen. Both words meant “to grumble and complain” (and if their shared definition, combined with their spelling and pronunciation, reminds you of a certain furry green Muppet who lives in a trash can, you’re onto something: grouch is thought to be a grucchen descendant). Over time grucchen/grudgen became grudge, which picked up the additional, closely related meanings of “to be unwilling to give or allow” and “to allow with reluctance or resentment,” as when Virginia Woolf wrote “if you come to grudge even the sun for shining … fruit does not ripen.” Grudging, which developed from grudge, made its English debut in the 1530s, and has been used ever since to describe someone who is unwilling or reluctant (“a grudging supporter”) or something done or given reluctantly or sparingly (“grudging respect”).
Examples of grudging in a Sentence
Ann Rutledge, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
The most grudging sort of minimalist, Anderson places most of his emphasis on the yawning void between skeletal drum hits and moody streaks of synth.
—Pitchfork, 5 Dec. 2024
Congress rejected his major health care policy initiatives, and his grudging support for a much more limited national health insurance plan in part spurred Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) to challenge the incumbent Carter from the left in the 1980 Democratic presidential primary.
—Guian McKee / Made By History, TIME, 29 Dec. 2024
Microsoft is a conservative organisation, and its consideration of bitcoin is founded on a (perhaps, grudging) acceptance of important geopolitical, macroeconomic, and adoption trends.
—Sandy Carter, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near grudging
Cite this Entry
“Grudging.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grudging. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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