grief

American  

[greef] / grif /

noun

1. keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.

   Synonyms:

   moroseness , melancholy , sadness , misery , woe , heartache , anguish

   Antonyms:

   joy

2. a cause or occasion of keen distress or sorrow.

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verb (used with or without object)

griefed, griefing

1. Digital Technology.

   1. (in an online video game) to behave in an unsportsmanlike way or take pleasure in antagonizing (other players).

      I reported the jerk who griefed me yesterday—I hope they ban his account.

   2. to exploit a glitch or execute an online prank that ruins a website or other online experience for (users).

      Posting flashing content to an epilepsy site is taking griefing to a malicious and dangerous extreme.

idioms

1. come to grief,  to suffer disappointment, misfortune, or other trouble; fail.

   Their marriage came to grief after only two years.

2. good grief,  (used as an exclamation of dismay, surprise, or relief ).

   Good grief, it's started to rain again!

grief British  

/ ɡriːf /

noun

1. deep or intense sorrow or distress, esp at the death of someone

2. something that causes keen distress or suffering

3. informal  trouble or annoyance

   people were giving me grief for leaving ten minutes early

4. informal  to end unsuccessfully or disastrously

5. See tune

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grief More Idioms  

1. see come to grief; good grief.

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Usage

What does grief mean? Grief is mental or emotional suffering or distress caused by loss or regret. It’s especially used to refer to the feeling of sorrow and loss from the death of a loved one.People who are overwhelmed by grief are often described as grief-stricken. This kind of grief is most commonly associated with death, but the word can also be used in the context of other situations involving loss, such as a divorce or the loss of a job.The related verb grieve means to mourn—to feel or express intense grief, especially due to a death or loss.The word grief is also used informally to mean trouble or annoyance, as in Please don’t give your mother any grief when she gets home—her day has been hard enough already. Grief is used in the phrase good grief, which is typically used to express alarm or dismay.Grief is also used in the context of online gaming as a slang term that means something similar to the verb sense of troll—to take pleasure in antagonizing others.Example: I can’t imagine the amount of grief you feel from the loss of your mother.

Related Words

See sorrow.

Other Word Forms

• griefless adjective
• grieflessness noun

Etymology

Origin of grief

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English gref, grief, from Anglo-French gref; grieve

Example Sentences

And some simply bear witness to the grief that, almost a year later, still bubbles up.

From Los Angeles Times

The city has seen an outpouring of grief in recent days.

From Barron's

It reads almost like an obituary, detailing the suffering and grief she’s experienced as she pushes through treatment she knows will do little to save her life.

From Salon

Yet lately I’ve felt overwhelmed—exhausted by sustained fear, grief, chaos and, yes, frustration.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, the boy's father, William Shakespeare, writes a play to deal with his own grief.

From BBC

Related Words

• agony
• anguish
• bereavement
• despair
• discomfort
• gloom
• heartache
• heartbreak
• melancholy
• misery
• mourning
• pain
• regret
• remorse
• sadness
• sorrow
• trouble
• unhappiness
• woe
• worry