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
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.
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 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grievous. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!