Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for grievance

grievance

[ gree-vuhns ]

noun

  1. a wrong considered as grounds for complaint, or something believed to cause distress:

    Inequitable taxation is the chief grievance.

    Synonyms: distress, injury, hurt, injustice, affront

  2. a complaint, as against an unjust or unfair act:

    to have a grievance against someone.

  3. 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.



grievance

/ ˈɡriːvəns /

noun

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


Discover More

Other Words From

  • pre·griev·ance noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of grievance1

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of grievance1

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

Idioms and Phrases

see air one's grievances .
Discover More

Example Sentences

So, personal grievances aside, I much enjoyed reading Baggott’s new book.

He asked the housing authority to allow Gladden to participate in the grievance process before returning to court.

At district court hearings in September and October, Hughes argued that Gladden had attempted to resolve the case through the housing authority’s grievance process, a remedy available to residents under federal law.

Now that school is resuming, they’re taking their grievances to their respective school boards and pushing for administrators to implement ethnic studies classes that reflect students’ diverse backgrounds as a graduation requirement.

However, Lindsay added, “a culture has developed in which only certain conclusions are allowed … the fields we are concerned about put social grievances ahead of objective truth.”

From Ozy

In early October, Health Republic allowed me to submit a “grievance claim” which I filed, along with a pile of backup documents.

Nor are they moved by outrage over inequality or appeals to class grievance.

These were constituents with a grievance—local New York Jews, who were staging a non-violent protest to voice their concerns.

We do our cause more harm than good if we get outrageously outraged over every slight and grievance.

When the grievance committee, led by a Copé associate, declared Copé the winner again, Fillon demanded a re-vote; Copé dug in.

It would make everyone careful, of course, but I fail to see any grievance in that.

And generally Mr. Crow forgot a grievance quickly, because he was sure to get angry with somebody else.

I have a mild grievance against that talented lady, Miss Marjorie Bowen, for labelling her latest novel "a romantic fantasy."

Her color had risen with the memory of yesterday's grievance, pushed aside by curiosity for some twenty-eight hours.

The friars had power of absolution, independently of the bishop; and it was a bitter grievance.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


grieshochgrievance committee