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
On one side of the debate stage stood Bob Dole, still wearing proudly his grievous battlefield wounds from service in World War II.
—
Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 14 Mar. 2024
Netanyahu’s obsession with his own destiny as Israel’s protector has caused his country grievous damage.
—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
The evacuees make up only a tiny fraction of the thousands of civilians, including many children, who have suffered grievous injuries over the course of Israel’s monthslong campaign against Hamas and its bombardment of Gaza.
—Nariman El-Mofty Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
But through it all, Paul is conscious of the loss of humanity that comes with such victories, and the grievous human calculations demanded by the politics of war and resistance.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024
The youngest boomers took a hit to their 401(k)s in the Great Recession
Along with salaries, the retirement savings of the youngest boomers also took a grievous hit in the Great Recession.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
In the wake of the monstrous attack Hamas launched on Israel on October 7 and the grievous war that Israel has waged on the Gaza Strip ever since, the allegedly dead two-state solution has been resurrected.
—Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Many consider Mongolia’s adoption of Cyrillic in the 1940s a grievous error of Communism.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
But in some catastrophes like Cole’s, in which the injuries are so grievous they can’t be denied, ProPublica found that companies moved almost immediately to cover up their culpability.
—Jessica Lussenhop, ProPublica, 19 Dec. 2023
Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 14 Mar. 2024
Netanyahu’s obsession with his own destiny as Israel’s protector has caused his country grievous damage.
—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
The evacuees make up only a tiny fraction of the thousands of civilians, including many children, who have suffered grievous injuries over the course of Israel’s monthslong campaign against Hamas and its bombardment of Gaza.
—Nariman El-Mofty Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
But through it all, Paul is conscious of the loss of humanity that comes with such victories, and the grievous human calculations demanded by the politics of war and resistance.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024
The youngest boomers took a hit to their 401(k)s in the Great Recession
Along with salaries, the retirement savings of the youngest boomers also took a grievous hit in the Great Recession.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024
In the wake of the monstrous attack Hamas launched on Israel on October 7 and the grievous war that Israel has waged on the Gaza Strip ever since, the allegedly dead two-state solution has been resurrected.
—Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Many consider Mongolia’s adoption of Cyrillic in the 1940s a grievous error of Communism.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
But in some catastrophes like Cole’s, in which the injuries are so grievous they can’t be denied, ProPublica found that companies moved almost immediately to cover up their culpability.
—Jessica Lussenhop, ProPublica, 19 Dec. 2023
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.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near grievous
Cite this Entry
“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grievous. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on grievous
Nglish: Translation of grievous for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of grievous for Arabic Speakers
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