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

Smith’s team said U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon made a grievous mistake by ruling that Smith was unlawfully appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. —Eric Tucker, Sun Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2024

The defense has repeatedly accused investigators of making grievous mistakes, including losing videos of several interviews with witnesses. —Ron Wilkins, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Nov. 2024

The driver of the car panicked, tried to flee the scene, and in that process, ran over him again, and that caused [Shivam] the most grievous injuries. —Carlton Reid, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024

One of Obama’s tasks leading up to Election Day is to persuade Black men that voting for Donald Trump would be a grievous mistake. —Josh Feldman, NBC News, 21 Oct. 2024

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