aggrieved

adjective

ag·​grieved ə-ˈgrēvd 

1

: troubled or distressed in spirit

2

a

: suffering from an infringement or denial of legal rights

aggrieved minority groups

b

: showing or expressing grief, injury, or offense

an aggrieved plea

… he would look up with such an aggrieved air …

—Lucy Maud Montgomery

aggrievedly

ə-ˈgrē-vəd-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of aggrieved

• dissatisfied
• frustrated

Examples of aggrieved in a Sentence

He felt aggrieved by their refusal to meet with him.

The aggrieved party may cancel the contract.

Recent Examples on the Web

Liverpool had their own reasons to feel aggrieved when Ibrahima Konate had a goal denied after the ball was deemed to have dribbled in. —James Pearce, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026

If tweedy free-speech absolutists and their aggrieved students are capable of finding common ground, this will be the issue that unites them. —Judy Berman, Time, 5 Mar. 2026

As various subplots chugged along toward their combustion point, top dog Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and his aggrieved nephew Michael (Finn Cole) had their final stand-off. —Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2026

The emails appeared to have been written by Epstein on behalf of an aggrieved employee of Gates who was resigning. —Faris Tanyos, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English agreved "annoyed, resentful," from past participle of agreven "to aggrieve"

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for aggrieved

• disbelieved
• interleaved
• misconceived
• preconceived
• undeceived
• unperceived
• unrelieved
• achieved
• believed
• bereaved
• conceived
• deceived

Kids Definition

aggrieved

adjective

ag·​grieved ə-ˈgrēvd 

1

: troubled or distressed in spirit

2

: having a cause for complaint

especially : suffering from injury or loss

Legal Definition

aggrieved

adjective

: having a grievance: as

a

: suffering from an infringement or denial of rights

b

: having interests adversely affected

aggrieved creditors