grinning

Meanings

1. 1verbintransitive

   Present participle of grin: smiling widely so that the teeth often show, as a sign of fun, mischief or pleasure.

   Grammar: No object; often followed by at or with: grinning at the joke, grinning with delight.

   Patterns

   • grinning at someone
   • grinning with delight
   • grinning from ear to ear

   The boy stood grinning at his new bicycle.

   She was grinning from ear to ear after the news.

   He kept grinning at me throughout the lesson.

2. 2adjectivecomparable

   Showing a broad, cheerful or mischievous smile.

   Grammar: Can come before a noun: a grinning child.

   Patterns

   • grinning face
   • grinning like a Cheshire cat

   A grinning crowd waited at the finish line.

   The grinning pumpkin glowed on the porch.

   He sent me a grinning emoji.

Word forms

Common combinations

grinning from ear to ear

He was grinning from ear to ear as he held the trophy.

grinning widely

She walked in grinning widely.

grinning like an idiot

I caught myself grinning like an idiot at her message.

grinning face

A grinning face appeared at the window.

grinning and bearing it

He kept grinning and bearing it through the long speech.

Synonyms and how they differ

smiling

Smiling is the general word and can be gentle, while grinning is broader and more open.

beaming

Beaming suggests joy or pride shining from the face, with less sense of mischief.

smirking

Smirking is a self-satisfied or unkind smile, which grinning usually is not.

laughing

Laughing involves sound, but grinning is silent.

Opposites

Word family

grin verb

to smile broadly

grin noun

a broad smile

grinned verb

past tense of grin

grinningly adverb

with a grin

Commonly confused: grinning or grimacing?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “grinning”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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