grievous

adjective

griev·ous ˈgrē-vəs

Synonyms of grievous

: causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or sorrow

a grievous wound

a grievous loss

: oppressive, onerous

grievous costs of war

: 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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The inescapable reality is that neither country can deliver any knockout blows against the other without doing grievous damage to itself. — Ali Wyne, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2026 The musician initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of grievous bodily harm in June 2025 but reversed his plea in July. — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026 Assault and grievous bodily harm charges, which the pair denied, were previously dropped, as was a charge Brown faced of having an offensive weapon. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Oct. 2026 The two men denied charges for assault and grievous bodily harm as well as Brown having an offensive weapon, and these were subsequently dropped. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for grievous

Word History

Etymology

Middle English grevous, greveus "oppressive, burdensome, injurious, severe (of sickness, wounds)," borrowed from Anglo-French grevous, grevus (continental Old French grevos), from gref "burden, hardship, grief" + -ous -ous

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

See more words from the same century

Browse Nearby Words

grievingly

grievous

grievously

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grievous. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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Kids Definition

grievous

adjective

griev·ous ˈgrē-vəs

: heavy entry 1 sense 2, severe

the grievous cost of war

: causing pain, suffering, or sorrow

a grievous wound

: serious sense 4, grave

a grievous mistake

grievously adverb

grievousness noun

grievous

adjective

Synonyms of grievous

Examples of grievous in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

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