1
as in harsh
difficult to endure
the months of chemotherapy seemed almost as grievous an affliction as the cancer itself
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2
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
the death of a spouse can be a grievous loss from which one never recovers
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3
as in dangerous
involving potential loss or injury
a grievous wound that requires a doctor's immediate attention
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4
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
the grievous cost of the war in human lives weighed heavily on the president's mind
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grievous
He was later charged with grievous bodily harm with intent, the Metropolitan Police announced.
—
Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 16 May 2025
In these last 250 years, our country has made many grievous errors, starting with slavery, which would require a bloody Civil War to end.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2025
Amidst the global rout of markets, Taiwanese energy companies’ losses were far more grievous than the worldwide average.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
Yet the idea that something that grievous could simply be healed or erased does not make sense in my world.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grievous
Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 16 May 2025
In these last 250 years, our country has made many grievous errors, starting with slavery, which would require a bloody Civil War to end.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2025
Amidst the global rout of markets, Taiwanese energy companies’ losses were far more grievous than the worldwide average.
—Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
Yet the idea that something that grievous could simply be healed or erased does not make sense in my world.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for grievous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grievous
Adjective
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In fact, all forms of Persian rap — from street rap and gangsta to philosophical and social hip-hop — were used in the service of protest, with many works accompanied by heavy beats, dark atmospheres, and harsh narrative styles.—
Ali Farahmand,
IndieWire,
23 May 2025
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Padilla had harsh comments for the president and the GOP in a statement Thursday after the House vote.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Their boyfriends, meanwhile, suffer the painful indignities of paper cutters, buzzsaws, and other sharp objects.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
23 May 2025
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Ornstein: United were budgeting for no European football next season, Joseph, and therefore last night would have been extremely painful but not a complete shock.—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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This, in effect, frames even the movie’s unrelated, apolitical happenings as being at the mercy of this dangerous future, backed by Western powers.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
24 May 2025
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Mensah and Bharadwaj take dangerous risks exploring an unknown area while Gurathin confronts Murderbot.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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Mexicans mourned the deaths of two sailors while authorities in Mexico and New York worked to unravel the mystery of the tragic crash of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship into the Brooklyn Bridge.—
John Bacon,
USA Today,
21 May 2025
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Many moviegoers are taking issue with Hurry Up Tomorrow for being little more than a feature-length promotion for Tesfaye’s studio album of the same name, which was released in January amid the tragic L.A. fires and is billed as a goodbye to his moniker as The Weeknd.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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Peña said that because the physical changes to the third floor will be minimal, the new flea market should be open in the next couple of weeks — just in time to avoid Miami’s searing summer heat and sudden thunderstorms.—
Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025
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Pyroclastic clouds, or a dense mixture of ash, gas and rock dispersed during a volcanic eruption, caused a searing, rapid avalanche of debris to fill the home, Zuchtriegel said.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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Scheifele’s emotional and inspirational decision to play mere hours after his father’s unexpected death — to play for his dad, to play because of his dad — ended in cruel fashion, with Scheifele helpless in the penalty box.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
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At first the program seems to be benign, but Hayakawa’s film steadily reveals how the policy thrives on the cruel capitalist tenet that people are disposable.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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The cities with some of the highest rates of poverty and the most people of color have borne the burden of the state’s hazardous waste facilities.—
Sarah McCoy,
Hartford Courant,
18 May 2025
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For species such as the American elm, summer pruning is widely recognized as hazardous.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2025
Adjective
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None of his previous work has been released in the U.S., which is unfortunate because Demoustier (brother of the talented actress Anaïs) is one of those rare French filmmakers who can blend suspense with perceptive writing and characterization, resulting in artsy thrillers that dig deep.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2025
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The coworker that went through this in particular took two more weeks unpaid, which in my opinion is also incredibly unfortunate.—
Jordan Fennell,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grievous. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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