Synonyms for gruff

Adjective

1. crusty, curmudgeonly, gruff, ill-humored, ill-humoured, ill-natured (vs. good-natured)

usage: brusque and surly and forbidding; "crusty remarks"; "a crusty old man"; "his curmudgeonly temper"; "gruff manner"; "a gruff reply"

2. gruff, hoarse, husky, cacophonous (vs. euphonious), cacophonic

usage: deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion; "gruff voices"; "the dog's gruff barking"; "hoarse cries"; "makes all the instruments sound powerful but husky"- Virgil Thomson