aggrieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to oppress or wrong grievously; injure by injustice.
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to afflict with pain, anxiety, etc.
verb
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(often impersonal or passive) to grieve; distress; afflict
it aggrieved her much that she could not go
-
to injure unjustly, esp by infringing a person's legal rights
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aggrieve
1250–1300; Middle English agreven < Middle French agrever < Latin aggravāre to make heavy, worsen, equivalent to ag- ag- + grav- ( see grave 2) + -āre infinitive suffix; cf. aggravate
Explanation
To aggrieve someone is a lousy thing to do. Not sure why? See the "grieve" in there, and you'll see why. It means to bring someone sorrow. Which one of us is the aggrieved party? Well, considering it was you who let your pigs run roughshod over my lawn, I think it's clear that it's you who aggrieved me. Or, to put it another way, I've been aggrieved by you and your horrible hogs. When you're talking about interpersonal issues, to aggrieve someone is to hurt their feelings, but in the legal sense, it means something slightly different: it's not feelings that are hurt when one is aggrieved, but one's rights.
Vocabulary lists containing aggrieve
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Good Grief!: Grav, Griev
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A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The government says the main legislation relevant to spiking is Section 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which includes maliciously administering poison with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy that person.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2024
In his opinion, Watson wrote “because the model policies are directed only to school boards, they cannot affect or aggrieve anyone other than the school boards.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 29, 2021
It wasn’t to aggrieve one particular sense of wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2015
The morals still aggrieve him and, even with Terry no longer around, that makes it a calculated gamble on Hodgson's part.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 14, 2013
And if it now were, it were not too soon; Would that it were, seeing it needs must be, For 'twill aggrieve me more the more I age.
From Divine Comedy, Longfellow's Translation, Complete by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“You should not feel aggrieved nor should you ever put that in writing,” Todd Webster, another lobbyist Navatek hired, replied.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
But talks broke down in dramatic fashion, leaving both sides aggrieved and accusing the other of negotiating in bad faith.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
It’s an arrangement that falls short of historical justice, said attorneys for the aggrieved owners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The fury from PlayStation die-hards, gamers more broadly, and even creators, has been absolutely boiling ever since the announcement, which earned thousands of aggrieved comments on the brand’s own website.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Many officers were aggrieved by Wickersham, and I was delighted when one of my favorites, Goldman, from B-block, joined the club.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Medium has taken different strategic paths, sometimes aggrieving writers with its sudden shifts in focus.
From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2022
For writers, editors, graphic designers, and others on gig work platforms, navigating resellers have become an aggrieving part of the grind that can border on deceitful.
From The Verge ● Feb. 9, 2022
It is an unorthodox interview because the Football Association, mindful of aggrieving City, have asked Lescott to keep the subject to England and not discuss club issues when, of course, the two are intrinsically linked.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 24, 2013
How does Moscow satisfy the growing hunger for self-rule in the republics without aggrieving the large numbers of local Russians?
From Time Magazine Archive
On each side there was an aggrieved and aggrieving subordinate general, Sickles on the Federal side, Longstreet on the other.
From Captains of the Civil War; a chronicle of the blue and the gray by William Charles Henry Wood
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
