grieve

[greev]

verb (used without object)

grieved, grieving 

1. to feel grief or great sorrow.

   She has grieved over his death for nearly three years.

   Synonyms: suffer, bemoan, bewail, weep, lament

verb (used with object)

grieved, grieving 

1. to distress mentally; cause to feel grief or sorrow.

   It grieves me to see you so unhappy.

   Synonyms: pain, sadden

2. Archaic.,  to oppress or wrong.

grieve

¹

/ ɡriːv /

verb

1. to feel or cause to feel great sorrow or distress, esp at the death of someone

2. obsolete,  (tr) to inflict injury, hardship, or sorrow on

grieve

²

/ ɡriːv /

noun

1. a farm manager or overseer

Other Word Forms

• grievedly adverb
• griever noun
• grievingly adverb
• nongrieved adjective
• nongrieving adjective
• overgrieve verb
• ungrieved adjective
• ungrieving adjective
• grieving noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of grieve¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English greven, grieven, from Old French grever, from Latin gravāre “to burden,” verb derivative of gravis “heavy”; grave ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of grieve¹

C13: from Old French grever, from Latin gravāre to burden, from gravis heavy

Origin of grieve²

C15: from Old English (Northumbrian) græfa reeve

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

“I’ll grieve it,” he says, setting the instrument down and zipping it back up into its case.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

We grieve the losses and explore time-tested ways to open the door for a loved one’s possible return.

Read more on Salon

Heaney grieves the violence, memorializing its complexity and horror in a poem that can stand with Yeats and Auden.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Debbie Duncan, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, is being backed by her local MP in calling for Jay's Law to prevent the online trolling of grieving families like hers.

Read more on BBC

Navy corpsman and Dis’ older brother, found it difficult to grieve his friends who died while serving and the death of his sister because he was raised to “Be a man and suck it up.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ache 
• cry 
• lament 
• regret 
• wail 
• weep 

When To Use

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.