- very severe or painful: a grievous injury
- very serious; heinous: a grievous sin
- showing or marked by grief
- causing great pain or suffering
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
griev•ous /ˈgrivəs/USA pronunciation
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- causing grief or great sorrow:a grievous loss.
- causing serious harm;
terrible:a grievous offense. - characterized by great pain or suffering:caused grievous bodily harm.
- causing a great burden;
oppressive:a grievous tax.
griev•ous
(grē′vəs),USA pronunciation adj.
griev′ous•ly, adv.
griev′ous•ness, n.
- causing grief or great sorrow:grievous news.
- flagrant;
outrageous;
atrocious:a grievous offense against morality. - full of or expressing grief;
sorrowful:a grievous cry. - burdensome or oppressive.
- causing great pain or suffering:arrested for causing grievous bodily harm to someone in a bar.
- Old French grevo(u)stem See grieve, -ous
- Middle English grevous 1250–1300
griev′ous•ness, n.
- 1. distressing, sad, sorrowful, painful. 2. deplorable, lamentable, calamitous, heinous, flagitious, dreadful, shameful, iniquitous.
- 1. delightful.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
grievous /ˈɡriːvəs/ adj
'grievous' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):