grief-stricken

[ greef-strik-uhn ]

adjective

1. overwhelmed by grief; deeply afflicted or sorrowful.

grief-stricken

adjective

1. deeply affected by sorrow or distress

Word History and Origins

Origin of grief-stricken¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Eric Jr. now helped his sobbing mother over to the front pew and his equally grief-stricken paternal grandmother, Gwendolyn Carr.

From The Daily Beast

The images from her memorial service and the faces of the grief stricken soldiers she served with are etched into my memory.

From The Daily Beast

However, the tragedy surrounding this case could extend far beyond unfortunate Jahi and her grief-stricken family.

From The Daily Beast

Even an “inconsolable” grief-stricken person is accessible to his or her other loved ones.

From The Daily Beast

One of your most visceral performances was as that grief-stricken mother in Rabbit Hole.

From The Daily Beast

This heart-felt praise served as some balm to Hal's wounded, grief-stricken spirits.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Tufts wore one when her eldest child died, and she was dreadful grief-stricken.

From Project Gutenberg

We felt how little was the comfort to be had here p. 192for the grief stricken relatives.

From Project Gutenberg

The change in Charlotte's features, her grief-stricken appearance, gripped John Lebrenn's heart as if in a vise.

From Project Gutenberg

Her grief-stricken mother gets a paralytic stroke which transforms her into a sort of living corpse.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anguished
• distressed
• heartbroken

More About Grief Stricken

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.

Where does grief-stricken come from?

The first records of the term grief-stricken come from around 1900. The word grief is first recorded much earlier, around 1200, and ultimately comes from the Latin verb gravāre, meaning “to burden,” from gravis, “heavy.” The same root forms the basis of the words gravity and the adjective grave meaning “serious.”

People who are grief–sticken—and those who try to help them deal with their grief—often become familiar with the popular theory that there are five stages of grief, which was developed by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. According to Kübler-Ross, the five stages of grief are:

1. Denial (This stage involves difficulty believing that what has happened is real.)
2. Anger (This involves frustration that it has happened to you.)
3. Bargaining (This can involve thinking about “what if” and trying to find some way out of what has happened.)
4. Depression. (This involves the sorrow that comes with the realization that what has happened is real and nothing can be done to change it.)
5. Acceptance. (This stage involves accepting what has happened and attempting to move on.)

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for grief-stricken?

• bereaved

What are some words that share a root or word element with grief–stricken? 

• grief
• stricken
• strike

What are some words that often get used in discussing grief–stricken?

• grieve
• mourning
• death
• loss
• denial
• anger
• bargaining
• depression
• acceptance

How is grief-stricken used in real life?

Grief-stricken is almost always used to describe someone who is overwhelmed with sorrow after the death of a loved one.

These three grief-stricken parents have visited nearly 2,000 south suburban students to talk about how their children lost their lives to opioid addiction. https://t.co/oKMFT7tMFw

— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) December 15, 2018

And this is the conservative('s?) estimate: FT says 60,000.
Either way, a dreadful, dreadful tragedy: so many grief-stricken families: the majority of these losses avoidable! https://t.co/1uFP6VcU8A

— A C Grayling #FBPE 3.5% #Reform #Rejoin🐟 (@acgrayling) June 5, 2020

Last night at the vigil, someone had a really red, grief-stricken face and I reached out and put my hand on their shoulder and they bawled

— 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚌 𝚙𝚒𝚡𝚒𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 (@mathewrodriguez) June 14, 2016

 

 

Try using grief-stricken!

Is grief-stricken used correctly in the following sentence?

To all the families who are grief-stricken over the loss of a loved one, I offer you my sincere condolences.