How to Use grudging in a Sentence

grudging

adjective
  • He has earned the grudging admiration of his rivals.
  • Her theories have begun to win grudging acceptance in the scientific community.
  • The can’t-stand-the-other-guy vote, the grudging hold-your nose-vote, is one way that democracies are supposed to work.
    Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2022
  • Above all, the memorial has the feel of a grudging concession.
    Alexander Nazaryan, Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2015
  • In the midst of mid-tour press, bands often talk about the road with a grudging respect, a necessary evil of living the dream.
    Dylan Owens, The Know, 6 Apr. 2017
  • But Villanueva was not of a mind to accept even such grudging praise.
    Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2022
  • The first: the persistence of inflation, and the grudging acceptance of it.
    Quartz, 15 Nov. 2022
  • And locals will say that in a grudging way, so as not to unduly raise people's hopes.
    Lawrence Specker, AL.com, 22 May 2017
  • Both of those outlays were made within months of Trump’s grudging departure from the White House.
    David Owen, The New Yorker, 15 June 2022
  • So the narrative is Elvis appealing to the host, to earn his grudging approval.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 9 Feb. 2024
  • Of the sons, only Kayce, the one who left (and who at some point became a war hero) has earned his father’s grudging respect, and Kayce wants no part of it.
    Ellen Gray, Philly.com, 15 June 2018
  • The stance has earned praise from pro-Israel groups in the United States and even the grudging respect of some conservatives.
    Annie Karni, New York Times, 26 May 2024
  • The two also have a grudging but mutual respect for each other and have learned how to keep their fights fair.
    Kevyn Burger Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 22 Jan. 2021
  • Who will bear the agony of being a grudging final selection?
    Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024
  • On the right, there is a different kind of grudging admiration for the Beijing way.
    Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 21 Aug. 2019
  • Critics, watching Curry battle the Mighty James to at least a draw, gave grudging respect.
    Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 June 2018
  • Now, there’s an acceptance – grudging or otherwise – that the game will never be the same, for better or worse.
    Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 13 Nov. 2020
  • The narrative unfolds like an episode of The Wire but without the comic relief - or that show's grudging empathy for the cops.
    Paul Butler, Philly.com, 5 Nov. 2017
  • Covington is getting little in the way of similar grudging props in the wake of his big defeat.
    Dave Doyle, MMA Junkie, 15 Dec. 2019
  • This should earn him at least some grudging respect from most media folk but probably won’t.
    James Freeman, WSJ, 1 June 2018
  • But the tone in North Korea’s media has remained suspicious and grudging.
    Mark Landler, BostonGlobe.com, 22 May 2018
  • This grudging regard was evident last month, when Dugdale died in a Dublin nursing home at age 82.
    Theresa McKinney, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Apr. 2024
  • After a moment, both raised their hands, a grudging show of support for their President and rival.
    Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Thirty-seven hundred dollars was more like a grudging acceptance that the men worked at all.
    Michael Scott Moore, The New Yorker, 25 May 2022
  • Grifters, for all our grudging admiration, rarely come to happy ends.
    Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2019
  • Among the film’s most piercing scenes are a couple of doozies set in the local watering hole, where Leslie gravitates to slake her thirst and to escape the judgment of her grudging hosts.
    Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2022
  • Yet there is one anthropologist who has grudging respect for the film.
    Daniel Immerwahr, The New Republic, 24 Mar. 2021
  • Still worse, Coes' graceless prose is worthy of a grudging C- in a college freshman writing class.
    Bruce Desilva, Dallas News, 30 July 2019
  • Call it grudging acceptance or feigned optimism on Capitol Hill.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 10 July 2024
  • There’s definitely a grudging admiration thing going on for him now.
    Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grudging.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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