1
: causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or sorrow
a grievous wound
a grievous loss
2
: oppressive, onerous
grievous costs of war
grievously
adverb
grievousness
noun
Synonyms
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
Marius Gustavson, 46, pleaded guilty to several crimes, including conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm, creating and distributing indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornography, per the BBC.
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Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 14 May 2024
The legislative conflict between Federal and state laws is not ideal, but not a grievous problem in large part because the conflict is tolerated and not enforced.
—Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, TIME, 3 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for grievous 
Samira Asma-Sadeque, Peoplemag, 14 May 2024
The legislative conflict between Federal and state laws is not ideal, but not a grievous problem in large part because the conflict is tolerated and not enforced.
—Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, TIME, 3 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for grievous
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grievous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near grievous
Cite this Entry
“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grievous. Accessed 31 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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