grievous

adjective

griev·​ous ˈgrē-vəs How to pronounce grievous (audio)
1
: causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or sorrow
a grievous wound
a grievous loss
2
: oppressive, onerous
grievous costs of war
3
: serious, grave
grievous fault
grievously adverb
grievousness noun

Examples of grievous in a Sentence

the grievous cost of war He took a foolish financial risk and suffered a grievous loss.
Recent Examples on the Web But through it all, Paul is conscious of the loss of humanity that comes with such victories, and the grievous human calculations demanded by the politics of war and resistance. David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024 The youngest boomers took a hit to their 401(k)s in the Great Recession Along with salaries, the retirement savings of the youngest boomers also took a grievous hit in the Great Recession. Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024 In the wake of the monstrous attack Hamas launched on Israel on October 7 and the grievous war that Israel has waged on the Gaza Strip ever since, the allegedly dead two-state solution has been resurrected. Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Many consider Mongolia’s adoption of Cyrillic in the 1940s a grievous error of Communism. Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023 But in some catastrophes like Cole’s, in which the injuries are so grievous they can’t be denied, ProPublica found that companies moved almost immediately to cover up their culpability. Jessica Lussenhop, ProPublica, 19 Dec. 2023 This does not mean whitewashing the grievous stain of slavery on our history but does mean eliminating propaganda suggesting ours is a fundamentally bad country. Washington Examiner, 21 Nov. 2023 This often results in grievous injuries to the ants during hunting missions—up to 22 percent of foraging Matabele ants have lost a leg or two during raids. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2024 But the most disturbing sights aren't always the most grievous ailments—as a recent case in Ohio demonstrates. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 7 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grievous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see grieve

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grievous was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near grievous

Cite this Entry

“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grievous. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

grievous

adjective
griev·​ous ˈgrē-vəs How to pronounce grievous (audio)
1
: heavy entry 1 sense 2, severe
the grievous cost of war
2
: causing pain, suffering, or sorrow
a grievous wound
3
: serious sense 4, grave
a grievous mistake
grievously adverb
grievousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on grievous

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