Mary Strong-Spaid was curious about disgruntled and got to wondering if one could be gruntled. And I’m gruntled to say that, indeed, one can be quite gruntled, lol.
Disgruntled has been around for centuries, beginning as a verb. It only later was used as an adjective.
Gruntled is a frequentative of the former, a fancy way of saying it evolved from disgruntled (in the early part of the twentieth century) and is considered an adjective as well as a verb.
That said, using either as a verb is extremely uncommon…writers should seriously consider whether its use as a verb would truly add to their character’s character. You may want to check out P.G. Wodehouse’s The Code of the Woosters for an example.
Word Confusions…
…started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Disgruntled | Gruntled |
|---|---|
Disgruntled by Olaf Gradin is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Flickr. |
The Opposite of Disgruntled by Barry Dahl is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: disgruntles |
Adjective; Verb, intransitive & transitive Third person present verb: gruntles |
| Adjective: Angry or dissatisfied
Verb, transitive:
|
Adjective: [Humorous] Pleased, satisfied, and contented Verb, intransitive: Verb, transitive: |
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: Judges receive letters from disgruntled members of the public all the time. Her disgruntled husband refused to join us. She was but one of the disgruntled employees. “She led her sodden and disgruntled team back into the changing rooms, insisting that the practice had not been a waste of time, though without any real conviction in her voice.” – J. K. Rowling The court ordered the company to set up “a $300,000 refund pool for disgruntled former customers”. – Kevin McGurk “The crowd was up as well, and just as disgruntled as it had been the night before.” – Christopher Cooper and Robert Block Verb, transitive: The rain disgruntled most everyone at the picnic. |
Adjective: Although he wasn’t actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled. I feel quite gruntled this morning. It has been a few years since I had them around so I’m deeply gruntled to have them back. Some of those currently disgruntled may never get gruntled. Sources in the banking industry have leaked the following letter to us, reportedly sent to a bank in the United States by a client who was, in the words of the poet, if not disgruntled, then certainly far from gruntled. And as much as I wanted her to be a disgruntled employee, eager to dish the dirt, she was surprisingly gruntled. Verb, intransitive: “But I have had no gruntles left since discovering that they can’t even afford spell-check over at Ms. magazine.” – “The Mummy Track“. The Progressive, Inc. Verb, transitive: |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adverb: disgruntledly Noun: disgruntlement Verb, transitive: disgruntle |
Verb: begruntle Verb, intransitive: gruntle |
| History of the Word: | |
| Mid-17th century from dis- (as an intensifier) + dialect gruntle meaning utter little grunts, a frequentative of grunt. | 1930s, used by P.G. Wodehouse in The Code of the Woosters as a back-formation from disgruntled. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Disgruntled versus Gruntled
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: disgruntled
The Free Dictionary: gruntle
“Is Gruntled a Word?” Daily Grammar Geek. Analytical Grammar.com. 22 April 2017. Web. 23 September 2019. <https://www.analyticalgrammar.com/2017/04/22/disgruntled-and-gruntled/>.
Lexico.com: gruntled
Merriam-Webster: disgruntled
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Sad Adult Man is Happy is under the CC0 license, via Max Pixel, <https://www.maxpixel.net/Face-People-Male-Emotions-Sad-Adult-Man-Happy-371238>. The image was flipped horizontally.
