grieve

verb \ ˈgrēv \

|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

Examples: grieve in a Sentence

Definition of grieve

grieved; grieving

transitive verb

1 : to cause to suffer : distress

it grieves me to see him this way

2 : to feel or show grief over

grieving the death of her son

3 : to submit a formal grievance concerning

grieve a dismissal

intransitive verb

: to feel grief : sorrow

still grieving over their mother's death

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griever

noun

See grieve defined for English-language learners

See grieve defined for kids

Examples of grieve in a Sentence

It grieves me to see my brother struggling like this.
Her decision to live overseas grieved her mother.
People need time to grieve after the death of a family member.
The children are still grieving the death of their mother.

Recent Examples of grieve from the Web

Neighbors said that the grieving mother didn't want to let go of her child.

— deasia paige, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit mother found living with daughter's body for 8 months," 2 July 2018
Steven Ford wrapped his arm around the grieving mother and leaned close to offer his sympathies.

— evan sernoffsky, SFChronicle.com, "In Bayview, a police effort to build trust as captain reaches out to black community," 15 June 2018
Like Don't Look Now before it, Hereditary uses the tropes of horror movies to address grieving, and just like in Don't Look Now, a failure to properly grieve leaves people vulnerable to... things.

— peter opaskar, Ars Technica, "Hereditary is catnip for fans of slow-burn horror movies," 9 June 2018
There are more than 5,000 Gold Star kids around the country, grieving the death of a parent, sibling or close relative.

— CBS News, "Gold Star children help others through the grief of losing a loved one," 4 June 2018
Meetings are held on the first Thursday of every month beginning at 7 p.m. at Calvary United Methodist Church, 301 Rowe Boulevard, Annapolis, and are open to anyone grieving the death of a child.

— baltimoresun.com, "Health digestAnne Arundel County health briefs," 30 May 2018
Kids, or their mothers, may be grieving a death, or separated because of illness, addiction, or incarceration.

— ellen mcgirt, Fortune, "Making Mother's Day More Inclusive," 10 May 2018
As the play begins, her anxieties are stirred once more by the unexpected arrival of Lisa (Cassie Beck), the grieving mother of one of the students killed in the shooting.

— frank scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, "'This Flat Earth': Theater Review," 10 Apr. 2018
Sharpton hugged and consoled him and told the crowd not to judge how families grieve.

— don thompson and sophia bollag, chicagotribune.com, "Stephon Clark shot 7 times from behind by Sacramento police, according to independent autopsy," 30 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of grieve

Middle English greven, from Anglo-French grever, from Latin gravare to burden, from gravis heavy, grave; akin to Greek barys heavy, Sanskrit guru

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

grieve Synonyms

Synonyms

agonize, anguish, bleed, hurt, mourn, sorrow, suffer;

Near Antonyms

beam, cheer, crow, delight, exult, glory, joy, laugh, ravish, rejoice, triumph;

assure, cheer, comfort, commiserate, console, reassure, solace, soothe, sympathize;

rack, torment, torture;

bemoan, bewail, deplore, lament, rue;

bawl, blubber, cry, groan, howl, keen, moan, sob, take on, wail, weep, yammer, yowl;

languish;

regret;

Phrases

eat one's heart out, tear one's hair;

GRIEVE Defined for English Language Learners

grieve

verb

Definition of grieve for English Language Learners

: to cause (someone) to feel sad or unhappy
: to feel or show grief or sadness

GRIEVE Defined for Kids

grieve

verb \ ˈgrēv \

Definition of grieve for Students

grieved; grieving

1 : to feel or show grief

a grieving widow

2 : to cause grief to

Her tears seemed to grieve the kind-hearted Munchkins …
—L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz

Medical Dictionary

grieve

verb \ ˈgrēv \

medical Definition of grieve

grieved; grieving

transitive verb

: to feel or show grief over

grieving the death of her son

intransitive verb

: to feel grief

Each member of a family is likely to grieve differently, creating great potential for conflict.
—Eric Schlosser, The Atlantic Monthly, September 1997

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