grievous

[ gree-vuhs ]

See synonyms for grievous on Thesaurus.com

adjective

causing grief or great sorrow: grievous news.
full of or expressing grief; sorrowful: a grievous cry.

characterized by great pain or suffering; severe: grievous bodily harm;a grievous injury.
having serious effects; grave: a grievous mistake;grievous faults.
extremely or shockingly wicked, cruel, brutal, etc.; atrocious: a grievous offense against morality;grievous crimes.
burdensome; oppressive: to incur grievous expenses.

Origin of grievous

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English grevous, from Old French grevo(u)s; see grieve, -ous

Other words for grievous

1	distressing, heartbreaking, tragic; sad, sorrowful, painful
3	acute
4	critical
5	appalling, heinous
6	brutal, harsh, onerous

See synonyms for grievous on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for grievous

1	delightful

See antonyms for grievous on Thesaurus.com

Other words from grievous

griev·ous·ly, adverb
griev·ous·ness, noun
non·griev·ous, adjective
non·griev·ous·ness, noun
o·ver·griev·ous, adjective
o·ver·griev·ous·ness, noun

Words Nearby grievous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use grievous in a sentence

Hildebrand was keenly aware of the grievous failures of Christians under Nazism.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler | John Henry Crosby | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The cop lay open-eyed with a grievous head wound as Johnson again checked for a pulse.
'Please Don't Die!': The Frantic Battle to Save Murdered Cops | Michael Daly | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
No longer will we have to endure the grievous injury of that flag popping up as a museum shop chotchke.
We've Got Bigger Problems Than a Confederate Flag | John McWhorter | August 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Some horror will be too great, some attack too grievous for us to ignore.
American Voters Don’t Get Foreign Policy | Stuart Stevens | July 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The tactics almost certainly have saved untold thousands of innocents from grievous injury, even death.
Stop-and-Frisk Ruled Unconstitutional: A ‘Fair Trial’ for the NYPD? | Michael Daly | August 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

A grievous vision is told me: he that is unfaithful dealeth unfaithfully: and he that is a spoiler, spoileth.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
But his record shows grievous instability, and Robert probably had sound reasons for putting a period to his dubieties.
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. Murison
And then the old woman found that she had made a grievous mistake, and hastened to repair it.
Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
At their presence the people shall be in grievous pains: all faces shall be made like a kettle.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
Here are four distinct predictions; national peculiarity, grievous oppression, universal dispersion and remarkable preservation.
Gospel Philosophy | J. H. Ward

British Dictionary definitions for grievous

grievous

/ (ˈɡriːvəs) /

adjective

very severe or painful: a grievous injury
very serious; heinous: a grievous sin

showing or marked by grief: a grievous cry
causing great pain or suffering: a grievous attack

Derived forms of grievous

grievously, adverb
grievousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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