Synonym Chooser

How does the noun grievance contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of grievance are injury, injustice, and wrong. While all these words mean "an act that inflicts undeserved hurt," 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

When is injury a more appropriate choice than grievance?

While the synonyms injury and grievance are close in meaning, injury applies in law specifically to an injustice for which one may sue to recover compensation.

libel constitutes a legal injury

When could injustice be used to replace grievance?

The words injustice and grievance can be used in similar contexts, but injustice applies to any act that involves unfairness to another or violation of one's rights.

the injustices suffered by the lower classes

When is it sensible to use wrong instead of grievance?

In some situations, the words wrong and grievance are roughly equivalent. However, 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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grievance Eventual compromise may stem from geographic pay differentials, work frustration or personal grievance. Noah Barsky, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025 Sun Sentinel Asking Eric: My son begged us not to bring up our grievance to his touchy in-laws His wife’s parents make all the holiday plans, and we’re never invited. South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, 9 June 2025 On Saturday, June 7, one traveler, Pat McAuliffe, a contributor at Barstool Sports, took his grievances to X (formerly Twitter) and shared a video of himself on a Delta Airlines flight with a crying baby in the background. Moná Thomas, People.com, 9 June 2025 No grievance, real or imagined, can ever justify harming innocent lives. Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for grievance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grievance
Noun
  • This helps prevent confusion, resentment, or unrealistic assumptions—especially under stress.
    Raul Elizalde, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025
  • Unrealistic demands can lead to burnout, resentment and a loss of productivity across the entire team.
    Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 24 June 2025
Noun
  • Officers responded to a burglary complaint about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, when employees at the city’s Parks and Recreation Department told cops someone was stuck in the chimney of a building in Rockwell Park, Bristol Police Lt. Desmond Wilson said.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 23 June 2025
  • The Biden administration warned that would lead to a huge backlog of complaints and strain the government’s resources, should thousands of borrowers now have to present their cases in court, and would harm borrowers by forcing them to default on their loans in order to possibly get relief.
    Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • Author James Frey still has a grudge against Oprah Winfrey, nearly 15 years after the host confronted him for lying in his memoir on national TV.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 11 June 2025
  • Yet the company rolled him straight from the WrestleMania stage into Backlash and a main-event grudge with 45-year-old Randy Orton, the only rival old enough to remember chain-wrestling him in the Ohio Valley.
    Oliver Bateman, The Washington Examiner, 30 May 2025
Noun
  • Pretty soon, the whine of the gears, the shriek of the diff, and the sheer cacophony of combustion make conversation all but impossible.
    Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 28 May 2025
  • Men clad in DayGlo vests and hardhats chatted as the whine of a flying cargo drone echoed through the valley.
    Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 23 May 2025
Noun
  • The deep pockets add both style and practicality—great for a mom to put her card and keys in without the fuss of a purse.
    Jacquelyn Smith, Parents, 16 June 2025
  • Through all that high entertainment, Spaun went out in the morning with hardly a fuss and nary a bogey.
    Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2025
Noun
  • Suffice to say, the 2025 Cannes market will be filled with even more groans on moans than years past.
    Elsa Ramo, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
  • There's a push, and suddenly, a newborn's first cry replaces the mother's moans.
    Laura Gómez, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Grievance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grievance. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on grievance

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