grieve
Americanverb (used without object)
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grieves,
present (3rd person singular)
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grieved,
past participle, past
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grieving
present participle
verb
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to feel or cause to feel great sorrow or distress, esp at the death of someone
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obsolete (tr) to inflict injury, hardship, or sorrow on
noun
Usage
What does grieve mean? To grieve is to feel or express intense grief—mental or emotional suffering or distress caused by loss or regret. Grieve often means the same thing as mourn. It’s especially used in the context of someone who is mourning the death of a loved one. However, the word can also be used in the context of other situations involving loss or regret, such as the end of a relationship or the loss of a job. Less commonly, grieve can mean to cause someone to feel grief, as in It grieves me to see you so sad. Grieve should not be confused with bereave, which means to take away and leave devastated. Those who are grieving are those who have been bereaved. Example: After losing someone close, it’s important to take the time to grieve.
Synonym Usage
Grieve, mourn imply showing suffering caused by sorrow. Grieve is the stronger word, implying deep mental suffering often endured alone and in silence but revealed by one's aspect: to grieve over the loss (or death ) of a friend. Mourn usually refers to manifesting sorrow outwardly, either with or without sincerity: to mourn publicly and wear black.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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grievernoun
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grievingnoun
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overgrieveverb
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nongrievedadjective
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nongrievingadjective
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ungrievedadjective
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ungrievingadjective
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grievedlyadverb
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grievinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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grievesimple
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grievessimple
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have grievedperfect
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has grievedperfect
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am grievingprogressive
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are grievingprogressive
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is grievingprogressive
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have been grievingperfect progressive
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has been grievingperfect progressive
Past
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grievedsimple
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had grievedperfect
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was grievingprogressive
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were grievingprogressive
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had been grievingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grieve
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English greven, grieven, from Old French grever, from Latin gravāre “to burden,” verb derivative of gravis “heavy”; see grave 2
Explanation
To grieve is to feel sorrow over something, especially people who have died. The most common use of grieve has to do with death: usually there are grieving family members and grieving friends, feeling sadness over the loss of a loved one. You can also grieve over a pet who died, a job you didn't get, or a favorite pair of shoes that were ruined. Usually there's some kind of loss involved, but as long as you feel extremely sad about something that's happened, you're grieving.
Vocabulary lists containing grieve
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
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Good Grief!: Grav, Griev
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Bush's Address on 9/11
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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:
As for those who grieve them, “they understand why all this happened.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
But permit me, as a lifelong MMA fan, to grieve a bit for my favorite sport: the only one I’ve ever truly loved.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026
As they grieve, many are also seeking answers about the circumstances of the strike and waiting for the sailors' bodies to be returned home.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
"They are having to grieve the unimaginable loss of their beloved daughter, friend and mother in the most tragic of circumstances."
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
She summons one stone and clings to it, a drowning woman, then summons another and another until she cries, “Mami, I grieve in my dreams.”
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
"Seattle grieves with you, and we will stand with you in the difficult days ahead."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“We are a first-world country, and speaking as a physician that knows this can be prevented, it grieves me,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
What does it look like when a bird grieves?
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2025
At community meetings, she grieves with locals, alternating between tears and blunt talk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025
“I will not abandon Meereen to the fate of Asta- por. It grieves me to say so, but Westeros must wait.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
The soap followed her as she grieved and began to navigate life as a single mother.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
He has also grieved his mother Florence who died in December, speaking at her funeral in Nigeria and, by arrangement with the national team, joined up late with his team-mates before the Six Nations.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Jefferson grieved deeply over the loss of his wife, the death in childhood of four of their six children, and the later loss of a daughter at only 25.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
As last year’s wildfires multiplied, still 0% contained, field reporters — tasked with articulating the unintelligible on camera — grieved alongside Los Angeles in real time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026
This grieved me because few men had inspired me as Daliwonga had, and nothing would have given me greater joy than to fight beside him.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Thousands of fans who have watched the couple bond and raise chicks — including two this season — are now grieving the avian icon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Several psychologists were available to consult with grieving children under the care of their parents, an AFP journalist saw.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
You may already be grieving the possibility of loss while your brother is still here and while you are actively helping him through his exhaustive cancer treatment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
The Daily Mirror leads with pleas from four "grieving mums", who ask: "Where are our babies?"
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
During the Mass, Ma tightened a leather belt around her belly, the way some old Haitian women tightened rags around their middles when grieving.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
