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

Other Word Forms

• pregrievance noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of grievance¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

see air one's grievances.

Example Sentences

It has been framed by some as a religious fight, but the central grievance is over grazing rights - access to land and water.

Read more on BBC

All grievances not aired at Thanksgiving will find their way to Lincoln Financial Field.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It isn’t not about identity, grievance or victimhood.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Some stated grievances may have benign explanations, while others are troubling.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But I also see why people think he might: He’s speaking to grievances that are real, measurable and decades in the making.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• grief 
• hardship 
• injustice 
• objection 
• outrage 
• resentment 
• sorrow 
• unhappiness www.thesaurus.com