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grievance

[ gree-vuhns ]
/ ˈgri vəns /
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See synonyms for: grievance / grievances on Thesaurus.com

noun
a wrong considered as grounds for complaint, or something believed to cause distress: Inequitable taxation is the chief grievance.
a complaint, as against an unjust or unfair act: to have a grievance against someone.
a feeling or belief that one has been wronged, oppressed, or is the victim of an injustice; resentment: The conflict on campus was described as the result of racial grievance or victim culture, depending on who reported it.
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Origin of grievance

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English greva(u)nce, greva(u)ns “injury, offense, annoyance,” from Old French grevance “harm, injury, trouble, misfortune”; see origin at grieve, -ance

OTHER WORDS FROM grievance

pre·griev·ance, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use grievance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for grievance

grievance
/ (ˈɡriːvəns) /

noun
a real or imaginary wrong causing resentment and regarded as grounds for complaint
a feeling of resentment or injustice at having been unfairly treated
obsolete affliction or hardship

Word Origin for grievance

C15 grevance, from Old French, from grever to grieve 1
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with grievance

grievance

see air one's grievances.

The American HeritageŸ Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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