gruffness

Red knew him well enough to look past the gruffness.

When the voice on the other end was heard again, the gruffness had gone out of it.

A hint of gruffness put an edge on his question.

To make up for that doubt he spoke with increased gruffness.

Charlie himself seemed a very decent sort under his gruffness.

Then he paused and gave a new command, its gruffness different from before.

"I kept your place," he said with just enough pretended gruffness.

If not for his gruffness, Anne might have hugged him.

"There's nothing to forgive," he said with the gruffness of true feeling.

His voice was harsh, although its gruffness might have been a disguise.

As he spoke about the legend, the gruffness disappeared from his voice.

So often the gruffness people showed the world was a defense, meant to protect the ones they loved.

She drew back, not giving herself the option of being hurt by his gruffness.

He didn't know the man well enough to judge whether or not his gruffness was genuine.

Feeling foolish, the tribune tried to hide it with gruffness.

Not an iota of doubt softened the gruffness in his voice.

But Rebecca had not missed the warmth and affection under the gruffness.

Miss Howard blinked, and a new note crept into the gruffness of her voice.

With a gruffness that gave her renewed hope, he said, "Get it born first.

He was compensating for his concern by showing mock gruffness.

There wasn't any gruffness to Mart's voice when he spoke.

"Not that I care about you - it's just too much paperwork," he said, with mock gruffness.

Inside the austere building, they were greeted with gruffness by the local officer in charge.

"You will never last," he'd said with typical Prussian gruffness at the start of our sessions.

They heard a voice, subdued with a recognizable gruffness.