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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
Tyler Aquilina, EW.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Those revenues supported limited federal spending—on average only about 3% of gross domestic product compared to 23% today—for a few grudging investments in infrastructure.
— Made By History, Time, 16 Apr. 2025
In the decades since, Iran-U.S. relations have see-sawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy, with relations peaking when Tehran made the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers before Trump withdrew from the deal, sparking more tensions in the Mideast that persist today.
—Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 12 Apr. 2025
The editors put in a full recap of their contentious but evolving friendship, which started with Lindsay hating Paige for shoehorning onto her show and has grown into a kind of grudging respect.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grudging
Cite this Entry
“Grudging.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grudging. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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