GRATE Synonyms: 119 Similar and Opposite Words

grate

verb

Definition of grate

as in to annoy

to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts unintentionally or not, you say rude things that grate people

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to scratch

to pass roughly and noisily over or against a surface the sled grated along the bare pavement

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to grit

to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound he grated the pieces of metal together

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of grate Athletes do miss a lot of classes, which grates on professors. — Geraldo L. Cadava, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026 Made out of stainless steel, the grater effortlessly zests citrus, shreds hard cheeses, and grates fresh spices. — Mariette Williams, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2026 The names are similar, the cheeses look nearly identical, and both are commonly grated over pasta, salads, soups, and more. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 15 Sep. 2026 The outer layer holds concentrated citrus oils and flavor; it is commonly grated and the resulting citrus zest added to baked goods, dressings, or cocktails. — Bridget Shirvell, Martha Stewart, 13 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for grate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for grate

Verb

What annoys me is that this whole thing is called Roaring 20th, so why was there not a flapper and Great Gatsby theme?

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Coach Rhett Lashlee was already annoyed with special teams coming into the game, and that was before the Mustangs botched two PAT attempts.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of annoy

Verb

Perhaps that’s just a tactic of a contender behind in the polls and scratching away to be the first Republican to lead California since Arnold Schwarzenegger.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2026
The fight was so violent that each one of them punched, scratched, bit and slapped the other, Linhardt said.

— David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of scratch

Verb

Bugs Bunny jams himself against the edge and grits his teeth in agony.

— Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
But credit Skubal for gritting it out each time, keeping the Dodgers in those three games against the Chicago Cubs, the Kansas City Royals and Brewers.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of grit

Verb

Pamir, which uses machine learning to scrape, parse and categorize vast amounts of unstructured video, image and social media data for its SaaS database, offers another tool.

— Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026
To get the tortoise’s DNA material, Jonathan’s veterinarian Joe Hollins pretended to feed him, wedged his mouth open with a hard glove and scraped cells from inside his cheek.

— Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of scrape

Verb

And as the team moved into the couple’s guest house on their San Diego rental property, the filmmakers feared that the home was bugged and ordered a device to try to de-bug it, without success.

— Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
As a Bears fan, McDermott doesn’t want to disrupt the team and bug McCaskey or Warren too much.

— Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of bug

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grass (on)

grate

G-rated

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“Grate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grate. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of grate

verb

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