aggrieve

[uh-greev]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aggrieve ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ag·grieved, ag·griev·ing.

to oppress or wrong grievously; injure by injustice.

to afflict with pain, anxiety, etc.

RELATED WORDS

oppress, abuse, afflict

Nearby words

Origin of aggrieve

1250–1300; Middle English agreven < Middle French agrever < Latin aggravāre to make heavy, worsen, equivalent to ag- ag- + grav- (see grave²) + -āre infinitive suffix; cf. aggravate

Related formsag·grieve·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aggrieve

The mighty mother cannot find it in her heart to pronounce a decision which must aggrieve one of such a devoted pair.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845|Various
Everything that can most aggrieve the heart of man has befallen me here under his eyes.
A Thorny Path [Per Aspera], Complete|Georg Ebers
No natives know so well how to aggrieve and be unpleasant to travellers.
In Darkest Africa, Vol. 2; or, The quest, rescue and retreat of Emin, governor of Equatoria|Henry Morton Stanley

British Dictionary definitions for aggrieve

aggrieve

verb (tr)

(often impersonal or passive) to grieve; distress; afflictit aggrieved her much that she could not go

to injure unjustly, esp by infringing a person's legal rights

Word Origin for aggrieve

C14: agreven, via Old French from Latin aggravāre to aggravate

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

Word Origin and History for aggrieve

aggrieve

early 14c., from Old French agrever "make worse; become worse," from Latin aggravare "make heavier" (see aggravation). Related: Aggrieved; aggrieving.