grievance

noun griev·ance \ ˈgrē-vən(t)s \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of grievance

1 obsolete : suffering, distress

2 : a cause of distress (such as an unsatisfactory working condition) felt to afford reason for complaint or resistance

Her chief grievance was the sexual harassment by her boss.

3 : the formal expression of a grievance : complaint

filed a grievance against her employer

See grievance defined for English-language learners

See grievance defined for kids

Examples of grievance in a Sentence

He has a deep sense of grievance against his former employer.
She has been nursing a grievance all week.
In the petition, the students listed their many grievances against the university administration.
Several customers came to the front desk to air their grievances.

Recent Examples of grievance from the Web

And late last month, the list of grievances against Avenatti only intensified, with new allegations of wrongdoing.

— lewis kamb, The Seattle Times, "Before Stormy Daniels, her attorney faced allegations of dubious business dealings," 7 Apr. 2018
Even so, Mutumuara’s gripe with the Red Cross seemed deeply personal, a vendetta over a long record of neighborly grievances.

— Longreads, "Where Have You Hidden the Cholera?," 5 Apr. 2018
The prosecution argues that some combination of financial stress, workplace grievances, and maternal envy drove the nanny to murder.

— maureen o'connor, The Cut, "‘Neither Family Will Be the Same’," 4 Apr. 2018
The wolf issue also comes against the backdrop of a list of grievances from France’s agricultural industry.

— colette davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, "France's wolves are back. Now, can it protect its farmers?," 4 Apr. 2018
Typically, protests in Africa take place because of economic grievances or demands for major political change.

— rachel sigman, Washington Post, "Will ‘Ghana First’ protests threaten a U.S military agreement?," 2 Apr. 2018
Mr Trump does not have a foreign policy so much as a worldview rooted in grievance and a belief that others must lose for America to win.

— The Economist, "American foreign policy after Rexit," 17 Mar. 2018
The identification of evangelical Christianity with ethno-nationalism and white grievance is a grave matter.

— michael gerson, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump evangelicals have sold their souls," 13 Mar. 2018
The 9-member volunteer committee meets once a month to hear grievances and issues raised by patients, their families and other community members.

— ken alltucker, azcentral, "State says Arizona State Hospital volunteers meddled with patients, overstepped bounds," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'grievance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of grievance

see grieve

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

grievance Synonyms

Synonyms

beef, bleat, carp, complaint, fuss, gripe, grouch, grouse, grumble, holler, lament, moan, murmur, plaint, squawk, wail, whimper, whine, yammer;

Near Antonyms

commendation, compliment, plaudit;

acclaim, applause, praise;

approval, endorsement (also indorsement), sanction;

Synonym Discussion of grievance

injustice, injury, wrong, grievance mean an act that inflicts undeserved hurt. injustice applies to any act that involves unfairness to another or violation of one's rights.

- the injustices suffered by the lower classes

injury applies in law specifically to an injustice for which one may sue to recover compensation.

- libel constitutes a legal injury

wrong applies also in law to any act punishable according to the criminal code; it may apply more generally to any flagrant injustice.

- determined to right society's wrongs

grievance applies to a circumstance or condition that constitutes an injustice to the sufferer and gives just ground for complaint.

- a list of employee grievances

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

GRIEVANCE Defined for English Language Learners

grievance

noun

Definition of grievance for English Language Learners

: a feeling of having been treated unfairly
: a reason for complaining or being unhappy with a situation
: a statement in which you say you are unhappy or not satisfied with something

GRIEVANCE Defined for Kids

grievance

noun griev·ance \ ˈgrē-vəns \

Definition of grievance for Students

: a reason for complaining

Law Dictionary

grievance

noun griev·ance \ ˈgrē-vəns \

legal Definition of grievance

1 : a cause of distress (as an unsatisfactory working condition or unfair labor practice) felt to afford a reason for complaint or dispute; especially : a violation of a collective bargaining agreement usually by the employer

2 : the formal expression of a grievance brought especially by an employee as the initial step toward resolution through a grievance procedure — see also arbitration, grievance arbitration at arbitration, mediation