Standard Lemma guide

grievous

adj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈɡɹiː.vəs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːvəs
  • /ɡɹiː.viː.əs/ nonstandard outside dialects
  • CMU ARPABET: G R IY1 V AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Causing grief, pain, or sorrow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: saddening, sorrowful, atrabiliary, atrabilious, deplorable, depressing, distressing, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, miserable, lamentable, lachrymable, mournful, regrettable, rueful, sad, tragic, unhappy, upsetting, woebegone, woeful

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Serious, grave, dire, or dangerous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: perilous, sombre, dangerous, dangersome, hazardous, jeopardous, wicked, parlous, periculous, precarious, risky, unsafe, austere, frightful, demure, serious, grave, earnest, grievous, lack-laughter, thoughtful, sad, sage, saturnine, sedate, solemn, solemncholy, sober, somber, staid, stern, sweer, weightsome, weighty

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a dangerous operation
  • a grave situation
  • a grave illness
  • grievous bodily harm
  • a serious wound
  • a serious turn of events
  • a severe case of pneumonia
  • a life-threatening disease

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dangerous, grave, serious, severe, life-threatening

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

shockingly brutal or cruel

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • murder is an atrocious crime
  • a grievous offense against morality
  • a grievous crime
  • no excess was too monstrous for them to commit

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: atrocious, flagitious, monstrous

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • grave responsibilities
  • faced a grave decision in a time of crisis
  • a grievous fault
  • heavy matters of state
  • the weighty matters to be discussed at the peace conference

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: grave, heavy, weighty

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

causing or marked by grief or anguish

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a grievous loss
  • a grievous cry
  • her sigh was heartbreaking
  • the heartrending words of Rabin's granddaughter

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: heartbreaking, heartrending

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English grevous, from Anglo-Norman grevous, from Old French grever, from Latin gravō (“to burden”). Developed in the 13th century. Equivalent to grief + -ous.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: скръбен (skrǎben) — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Bulgarian: печален (pečalen) — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Bulgarian: мъчителен (mǎčitelen) — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Dutch: pijnlijk — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • German: schmerzlich — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Ancient Greek: λυπηρός (lupērós) — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Ancient Greek: μογερός (mogerós) — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Polish: bolesny — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Romanian: dureros — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Russian: мучи́тельный (mučítelʹnyj) — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Russian: печа́льный (pečálʹnyj) — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Swedish: allvarlig — causing grief, pain or sorrow
  • Bulgarian: тежък (težǎk) — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Bulgarian: сериозен (seriozen) — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Chinese Cantonese: 嚴重 /严重 (jim4 zung6) — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Chinese Mandarin: 嚴重 /严重 (yánzhòng) — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Faroese: álvarsamur — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Faroese: álvarsligur — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • French: grave — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • German: ernst — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • German: ernsthaft — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • German: schwerwiegend — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Polish: poważny — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Russian: тяжкий (tjažkij) — serious, grave, dire or dangerous
  • Swedish: allvarlig — serious, grave, dire or dangerous