aggrieve

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb aggrieve differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of aggrieve are oppress, persecute, and wrong. While all these words mean "to injure unjustly or outrageously," aggrieve implies suffering caused by an infringement or denial of rights.

a legal aid society representing aggrieved minority groups

When can oppress be used instead of aggrieve?

While in some cases nearly identical to aggrieve, oppress suggests inhumane imposing of burdens one cannot endure or exacting more than one can perform.

a people oppressed by a warmongering tyrant

In what contexts can persecute take the place of aggrieve?

Although the words persecute and aggrieve have much in common, persecute implies a relentless and unremitting subjection to annoyance or suffering.

a child persecuted by constant criticism

Where would wrong be a reasonable alternative to aggrieve?

The words wrong and aggrieve can be used in similar contexts, but wrong implies inflicting injury either unmerited or out of proportion to what one deserves.

a penal system that had wronged him

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of aggrieve British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, a chemicals magnate and an avid outdoorsman, was aggrieved when Land Rover replaced its rugged and rudimentary old Defender with a design that shares its engineering principles with current passenger cars. Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 11 Mar. 2023 Amazon prohibits class action lawsuits in which aggrieved sellers can aggregate their claims and have their case decided by a judge or a jury. Sandeep Vaheesan, The New Republic, 28 Feb. 2023 He was aggrieved when Hitler, in an attempt to make the National Socialists more palatable to the middle class, opposed the Rural People’s Movement, a popular anti-Weimar tax revolt, which was commendably trying to blow up buildings in Berlin. Thomas Meaney, Harper’s Magazine , 16 Feb. 2023 Foreigners who aggrieve the Chinese Communist Party seriously enough typically get banned from the country. Tiffany Ap, Quartz, 4 Feb. 2022 See all Example Sentences for aggrieve 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aggrieve
Verb
  • Many are pleased by the news, yet simultaneously perturbed by the fact studies linking Red Dye 3 to cancer were released decades ago.
    Callum Booth, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Otherwise the plasma will simply stream by, scarcely perturbing our planet.
    Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 30 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • What afflicts the great star of the court can equally afflict the great star of the quad.
    Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
  • Among them was the plight of Marie Freyre, a 14-year-old afflicted with cerebral palsy and seizures who died within 24 hours of a long, bumpy ride from a Tampa hospital to the Golden Glades nursing home, ordered despite objections from her family.
    Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Many here see her as the embodiment of an America undergoing a cultural shift that threatens the heritage and political sensibilities of an old frontier town disquieted by changing times and suspicious of alternative lifestyles.
    Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2024
  • One of Biden’s challenges is that some of the Black men who are paying close attention in Macon are deeply disquieted by the influx of migrants at the U.S.’s southern border and the amount of money that his administration has committed to stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine.
    Maeve Reston, Washington Post, 30 June 2024
Verb
  • The talented musician and actor Hershey Felder is back in the Bay Area, this time with a show about the talented but tormented Sergei Rachmaninoff.
    Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Vinicius was once again tormented by old nemesis Pablo Maffeo throughout the action, and was therefore heated at full time and caught causing a rumpus in the tunnel.
    Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Thousands of children have been killed, maimed and forced to become child soldiers.
    Ruth Maclean, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
  • Yet she is also maimed in a hospital bed on the other end of the country, lending all of their interactions, every memory related and fact revealed, a spectral quality, as if Kyungha is like Odysseus traveling to the underworld for knowledge.
    Robert Rubsam, Vulture, 22 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • But Dani learns that he’s been writing to another girl on the ship, which upsets her deeply.
    Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
  • The dramatic change has added to the excitement level ahead of fight night in Inglewood, California, as Moicano bids to upset Makhachev on one day's notice.
    Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Set during Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1970s, the film tells the story of Eunice, a mother of five who must rebuild her life after her husband Rubens, a politician opposing the regime, is tortured, killed, and listed among the Desaparecidos.
    Amanda Castro, Newsweek, 23 Jan. 2025
  • And she's long been tortured by their disappearance.
    Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Already alienated from his former ally, Pence announced his campaign for president in 2023.
    Rachel Raposas, People.com, 20 Jan. 2025
  • Actions that Trump takes will surely alienate certain portions of the public.
    Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near aggrieve

Cite this Entry

“Aggrieve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aggrieve. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

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