grievance

American  

[gree-vuhns] / ˈgri vəns /

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.

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grievance British  

/ 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

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grievance Idioms  

1. see air one's grievances.

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Other Word Forms

• pregrievance noun

Etymology

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”; grieve, -ance

Example Sentences

Following the layoffs of several longtime journalists on KTLA, some viewers and fellow journalists are airing their grievances on social media.

From Los Angeles Times

Those who lost out for the top job, such as Ayatollah Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, the head of the judiciary, will surely nurse grievances.

From The Wall Street Journal

AI may be a lot more effective at explaining your grievances than you are.

From The Wall Street Journal

For others the trigger is grievance, isolation or personal instability, which gradually hardens inside online echo chambers, where resentment circulates freely.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Sinners” centers the Black American experience through history, art and spirituality, while “One Battle” speaks to the white liberal male’s ineffectual navigation of weaponized racial grievance.

From Salon

Related Words

• grief
• hardship
• injustice
• objection
• outrage
• resentment
• sorrow
• unhappiness