grimdark
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grimdark
- /ˈɡɹɪmdɑːk/ UK
- /ˈɡɹɪmˌdɑɹk/ US
Where it comes from
From grim (adjective) + dark (adjective), inspired by the tagline of the tabletop strategy game Warhammer 40,000 (its rulebook first published in September 1987): In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.
adjective more grimdark · most grimdark
-
Of a film, television programme, video game, written work, etc.: having a gloomy, dystopian atmosphere.
If your character is a more-or-less ordinary little girl fighting for her life as a usual thing, that's a fairly GRIMDARK setting; it implies that there isn't any Good authority with both the power and the will to protect them.
Opposite: noblebright
noun
-
The literary genre of speculative fiction that is amoral, dystopian, or violent.
It shows you piles of corpses, then revels in its mechs and future-war grimdark.
Opposite: hopepunk
Translations
Talk about this word "grimdark." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grimdark. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. grimdark. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grimdark "grimdark." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grimdark.Cite this
@misc{grimdark_2026,
title = {grimdark},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grimdark},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
