grieve
Americanverb (used without object)
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grieves,
present (3rd person singular)
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grieved,
past participle, past
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grieving
present participle
verb
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to feel or cause to feel great sorrow or distress, esp at the death of someone
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obsolete (tr) to inflict injury, hardship, or sorrow on
noun
Usage
What does grieve mean? To grieve is to feel or express intense grief—mental or emotional suffering or distress caused by loss or regret. Grieve often means the same thing as mourn. It’s especially used in the context of someone who is mourning the death of a loved one. However, the word can also be used in the context of other situations involving loss or regret, such as the end of a relationship or the loss of a job. Less commonly, grieve can mean to cause someone to feel grief, as in It grieves me to see you so sad. Grieve should not be confused with bereave, which means to take away and leave devastated. Those who are grieving are those who have been bereaved. Example: After losing someone close, it’s important to take the time to grieve.
Synonym Usage
Grieve, mourn imply showing suffering caused by sorrow. Grieve is the stronger word, implying deep mental suffering often endured alone and in silence but revealed by one's aspect: to grieve over the loss (or death ) of a friend. Mourn usually refers to manifesting sorrow outwardly, either with or without sincerity: to mourn publicly and wear black.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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grievernoun
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grievingnoun
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overgrieveverb
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nongrievedadjective
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nongrievingadjective
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ungrievedadjective
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ungrievingadjective
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grievedlyadverb
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grievinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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grievesimple
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grievessimple
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have grievedperfect
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has grievedperfect
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am grievingprogressive
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are grievingprogressive
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is grievingprogressive
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have been grievingperfect progressive
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has been grievingperfect progressive
Past
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grievedsimple
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had grievedperfect
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was grievingprogressive
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were grievingprogressive
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had been grievingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of grieve
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English greven, grieven, from Old French grever, from Latin gravāre “to burden,” verb derivative of gravis “heavy”; see grave 2
Explanation
To grieve is to feel sorrow over something, especially people who have died. The most common use of grieve has to do with death: usually there are grieving family members and grieving friends, feeling sadness over the loss of a loved one. You can also grieve over a pet who died, a job you didn't get, or a favorite pair of shoes that were ruined. Usually there's some kind of loss involved, but as long as you feel extremely sad about something that's happened, you're grieving.
Vocabulary lists containing grieve
Instead of "Said": Words For Sad Speech
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Good Grief!: Grav, Griev
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Bush's Address on 9/11
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
We didn’t have time to grieve before legal battles began.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
The GoFundMe fund-raiser was launched by Kate Jones to help cover Harrison's funeral and memorial costs, as well as household bills and essential expenses while his parents take time away from work to grieve.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Puza said Culver CityBus service will be suspended throughout the weekend to allow the transit agency’s team time to grieve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Later, the two blended poignantly in the opera’s only duet, in which they grieve over their seemingly inevitable fate—they must die together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
That was to do nothing, not even to grieve.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Heaney grieves the violence, memorializing its complexity and horror in a poem that can stand with Yeats and Auden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
What does it look like when a bird grieves?
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2025
At 19:26 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country grieves alongside the UK at this time.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
Alma — who receives minimal attention from her author — marries a bighearted chicken farmer named Izzy, and later grieves the early loss of her husband, and the absence of children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2025
"These are strange times in Qarth. And strange times are bad for trade. It grieves me to say so, yet it might be best if you left Qarth entirely, and sooner rather than later."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
The family asked for privacy whilst they grieved and supported one another, adding: "We would like to thank everyone for their kindness, support and understanding."
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
He has also grieved his mother Florence who died in December, speaking at her funeral in Nigeria and, by arrangement with the national team, joined up late with his team-mates before the Six Nations.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Montazeri grieved by sitting in front of his mother’s vanity, imagining she was sitting behind the mirror asking him everyday questions about homework or chores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
He also grieved for the moments he would not be able to share with his parents in the future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
And then finally, at dawn, the grieved expression on the face of the mine captain that could only mean one thing.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
"Unsolved cases involve real victims, grieving families and investigators working to secure answers," the statement added.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Dickinson offers no static picture of grief, but a poetic dramatization of grieving.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Sometime during the second half of 1863, she wrote one of her best poems, “Death sets a Thing significant,” on grieving the dead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Right now, our priority is recovering physically, grieving her, and trying to regain some sense of normalcy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Just like the crazy and grieving mother, Amá keeps all the blinds and curtains drawn, which makes our cramped apartment even more stuffy and depressing.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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.
