I.
noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , broad , Cheshire ( AmE ), Cheshire-cat , huge , large , wide
▪ faint , feeble , slight , small
▪ friendly , sympathetic
▪ happy
▪ infectious
▪ lazy
▪ cheesy , foolish , goofy , silly , stupid
▪ boyish , cheeky ( BrE ), devilish , devious , impish , mischievous , playful , sly , teasing
▪
Edmund looked up with an impish ~.
▪ mocking , teasing
▪ cocky , smug
▪ satisfied
▪ sheepish , shy
▪ rueful , sardonic , wry
▪ knowing
▪ insane , manic
▪ amused
▪ evil , feral ( esp. AmE ), hideous , malicious , sinister , wicked , wolfish
▪ crooked , lopsided
▪ gap-toothed , toothless , toothy
VERB + GRIN
▪ have
▪
He had a cheeky ~.
▪
I wondered why Dad had a ~ on his face.
▪ crack , flash (sb) , give (sb) , let out ( AmE )
▪
He gave the photographer a big ~.
▪ grin , smile
▪
He grinned his adorable ~.
▪ force , manage
▪
He forced a ~ despite feeling angry.
▪ break into , curl into ( AmE ), form , split into
▪
The old man's face broke into a ~.
▪
Her lips started to form a slight ~.
▪ fight , fight back , hide , hold back , stifle , suppress
▪
She tried to stifle a ~.
▪ wear
▪ return
GRIN + VERB
▪ broaden , grow , grow broader , grow wider , widen
▪ appear , break out (across sb's face) , come across sb's face , come over sb's face , creep across sb's face , creep onto sb's face , cross sb's face , form on sb's face , spread across sb's face , spread over sb's face
▪
A mischievous ~ spread across the little girl's face.
▪ be plastered across sb's face , be plastered on sb's face , light sb's face , light up sb's face , play on sb's face , split sb's face , tug at sb's lips
▪
a ~ tugging at the corners of his lips
▪ disappear , fade
▪
His wry ~ faded.
▪ turn into sth
▪
Her ~ turned into a frown.
PREPOSITION
▪ with a ~
▪
‘Fooled you!’ he said, with a cheeky ~.
▪ ~ at
▪
a ~ at his wife
▪ ~ of
▪
a ~ of triumph
PHRASES
▪ take the ~ off your face , wipe the ~ off your face
▪
Take that ~ off your face!
▪ wipe the ~ off sb's face
▪
I'll soon wipe that silly ~ off her face.
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ broadly , widely
▪
He appeared in the doorway grinning broadly.
▪ slightly , weakly
▪ crookedly
▪ brightly , cheerfully , happily
▪ amiably
▪ boyishly , cheekily ( BrE ), devilishly , impishly , mischievously , playfully
▪ madly , wildly
▪ triumphantly
▪ proudly
▪ inanely , stupidly
▪ nervously , sheepishly
▪
He just stood there, tongue-tied and grinning sheepishly.
▪ apologetically , ruefully , wryly
▪
She grinned apologetically when she saw him.
▪ evilly , maliciously , slyly , wolfishly
▪ knowingly
▪ smugly
▪ back , down at , up at
▪
She relaxed and grinned wickedly back at him.
▪
He lay grinning impishly up at me.
PREPOSITION
▪ at
▪
He stopped eating to ~ at me.
▪ like
▪
He just stood there, grinning like an idiot.
▪ to
▪
She grinned to herself at the thought.
▪ with
▪
They grinned with pleasure.
PHRASES
▪ ~ ear to ear ( AmE ), ~ from ear to ear
▪
She looked at us, grinning from ear to ear.
Grin is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ grin