grief-stricken
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does grief-stricken mean? Grief-stricken means overwhelmed or strongly affected by grief—mental or emotional suffering or distress caused by loss or regret. It’s especially used to describe a person who is feeling intense sorrow and loss from the death of a loved one. The word stricken is the past participle of the verb strike, but it can also be used as an adjective meaning the same thing as afflicted. The word grief can also be used in the context of other situations involving loss, such as a divorce or the loss of a job, but grief-stricken is usually only used to describe those who are feeling grief due to a death. In other words, those who are grief-stricken are usually those who are grieving or mourning. Example: She was absolutely grief-stricken after the loss of her mother.
Etymology
Origin of grief-stricken
First recorded in 1900–05
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.
At night, Elle shrugs on her father’s heavy black coat and slips into a reverie about a myth in which a grief-stricken murderer called the Leather Man searches for his lost daughter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Jessie Buckley, who plays the grief-stricken Agnes, is odds-on favourite for best leading actress after winning the best drama actress honours at the Golden Globes.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
We’ll see visions of a medium, hear fragmented remembrances and explore a trail while discovering a tale that feels like an intimate glimpse into a grief-stricken past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
After leaving his newborn daughter in the care of his sister Bamie, a grief-stricken Roosevelt fled to his cattle ranch in the Dakota Territory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
Four thousand members of the National Guard landed in Memphis to help manage the angry, grief-stricken crowds.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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.
