grief

American  

[greef] / grif /

noun

griefs plural

1. keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.

   Synonyms:

   moroseness, melancholy, sadness, misery, woe, heartache, anguish

   Antonyms:

   joy

2. a cause or occasion of keen distress or sorrow.

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verb (used with or without object)

griefed, griefing

1. Digital Technology.

   1. (in an online video game) to behave in an unsportsmanlike way or take pleasure in antagonizing (other players).

      I reported the jerk who griefed me yesterday—I hope they ban his account.

   2. to exploit a glitch or execute an online prank that ruins a website or other online experience for (users).

      Posting flashing content to an epilepsy site is taking griefing to a malicious and dangerous extreme.

idioms

1. come to grief, to suffer disappointment, misfortune, or other trouble; fail.

   Their marriage came to grief after only two years.

2. good grief, (used as an exclamation of dismay, surprise, or relief ).

   Good grief, it's started to rain again!

grief British  

/ ɡriːf /

noun

1. deep or intense sorrow or distress, esp at the death of someone

2. something that causes keen distress or suffering

3. informal trouble or annoyance

   people were giving me grief for leaving ten minutes early

4. informal to end unsuccessfully or disastrously

5. See tune

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grief More Idioms  

1. see come to grief; good grief.

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Usage

What does grief mean? Grief is mental or emotional suffering or distress caused by loss or regret. It’s especially used to refer to the feeling of sorrow and loss from the death of a loved one. People who are overwhelmed by grief are often described as grief-stricken. This kind of grief is most commonly associated with death, but the word can also be used in the context of other situations involving loss, such as a divorce or the loss of a job. The related verb grieve means to mourn—to feel or express intense grief, especially due to a death or loss. The word grief is also used informally to mean trouble or annoyance, as in Please don’t give your mother any grief when she gets home—her day has been hard enough already. Grief is used in the phrase good grief, which is typically used to express alarm or dismay. Grief is also used in the context of online gaming as a slang term that means something similar to the verb sense of troll—to take pleasure in antagonizing others. Example: I can’t imagine the amount of grief you feel from the loss of your mother.

Synonym Usage

See sorrow.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• grieflessness
  noun
• griefless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• griefs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of grief

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English gref, grief, from Anglo-French gref; see origin at grieve

Explanation

Grief means intense sorrow. You feel grief if something terribly sad happens, like if your dog dies or if your childhood sweetheart breaks up with you. The word grief comes from the Latin word gravare, which means to make heavy. Gravare itself comes from the Latin word gravis, which means weighty. So think of grief as a heavy, oppressive sadness. We associate it most often with mourning a loved one's death, but it can follow any kind of loss.

Example Sentences

After the initial excitement wears off, many people face loneliness, sadness, guilt and grief — aspects of the move that aren’t often discussed before one.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2026

“The biggest emotion for me has to be grief, but specifically migratory grief,” Mora said.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2026

One of the hardest parts of losing a child “is that you’re not just grieving the person, you’re grieving the future you imagined with them,” said Los Angeles-based grief specialist Carla Harvey.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2026

And a woman who's lost a baby doesn't deal with just grief and trauma, but also shame and pity.

From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026

A fresh wave of grief washes over me as I watch a couple of residents play cards, and I wish I hadn’t let Mom talk me into coming.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• agony
• anguish
• bereavement
• despair
• discomfort
• gloom
• heartache
• heartbreak
• melancholy
• misery
• mourning
• pain
• regret
• remorse
• sadness
• sorrow
• trouble
• unhappiness
• woe
• worry