grievous

adjective

griev·​ous ˈgrē-vəs 

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

Synonyms

• bitter
• brutal
• burdensome
• cruel
• excruciating
• grim
• hard
• hardhanded
• harsh
• heavy
• inhuman
• murderous
• onerous
• oppressive
• rough
• rugged
• searing
• severe
• stiff
• tough
• trying

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

On March 4, after an extensive investigation, 29-year-old Alec St. Clair was arrested and charged with four counts of murder, assault with intent to rob armed with offensive weapon and cause wounding/grievous bodily harm. —Laura Barcella, People.com, 5 Mar. 2025

Our environment and health are being threatened, our democracy is at a grievous tipping point, our global allies are alarmed and our adversaries are grinning. —Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2025

Liberal internationalists would probably agree that, in certain respects, U.S. democracy has suffered a grievous decline since Ike was president. —Anatol Lieven, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025

Confirming Patel would be a grievous mistake that would endanger the FBI's integrity and compromise its critical mission. —Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025

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

Kids Definition

grievous

adjective

griev·​ous ˈgrē-vəs 

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