aggrieve

[uh-greev]

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

to oppress or wrong grievously; injure by injustice.

to afflict with pain, anxiety, etc.

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

Related Words for aggrieve

oppress, abuse, afflict

Examples from the Web for aggrieve

Historical Examples of aggrieve

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
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

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

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