GRIMACE
grimace, face
(noun) a contorted facial expression; “she made a grimace at the prospect”
grimace, make a face, pull a face
(verb) contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state; “He grimaced when he saw the amount of homework he had to do”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
grimace (plural grimaces)
A contorted facial expression, often expressing contempt or pain.
(obsolete) Affectation, pretence.
Verb
grimace (third-person singular simple present grimaces, present participle grimacing, simple past and past participle grimaced)
To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces.
Anagrams
• Gemaric, Megaric
Source: Wiktionary
Gri*mace", n. Etym: [F., prob. of Teutonic origin; cf. AS. gr mask,
specter, Ical. gr mask, hood, perh. akin to E. grin.]
Definition: A distortion of the countenance, whether habitual, from
affectation, or momentary aad occasional, to express some feeling, as
contempt, disapprobation, complacency, etc.; a smirk; a made-up face.
Moving his face into such a hideons grimace, that every feature of it
appeared under a different distortion. Addison.
Note: "Half the French words used affectedly by Melantha in Dryden's
"Marriage a-la-Mode," as innovations in our language, are now in
common usa: chagrin, double--entendre, éclaircissement, embarras,
équivoque, foible, grimace, naïvete, ridicule. All these words, which
she learns by heart to use occasionally, are now in common use." I.
Disraeli.
Gri*mace", v. i.
Definition: To make grimaces; to distort one's face; to make faces. H.
Martineau.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition