grief
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the very strong feeling of sadness you have when someone you love dies.
n.intense emotional suffering caused by loss, particularly the death of a loved one. Uncountable in its general sense, though specific instances may be countable.
Simple“She felt a deep sense of grief after her grandfather passed away last year.”
In context“The community came together to support the family in their grief, offering both emotional comfort and practical assistance during the mourning period.”
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.trouble, problems, or criticism from someone.
n.trouble, annoyance, or verbal harassment. Often used in the idiom 'to give someone grief'.
Simple“My boss gave me a lot of grief for arriving ten minutes late to the meeting.”
In context“He decided to quit the team because he was tired of the constant grief he received from the fans after every loss.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to deliberately annoy or ruin the game for other players in an online video game.
v.to deliberately harass other players in a multiplayer online game, typically by using game mechanics to destroy their work or prevent progress.
Simple“Some players enjoy griefing beginners by destroying the houses they spent hours building.”
In context“The server administrator banned the user for griefing, as they had repeatedly sabotaged the collaborative construction project without provocation.”
UsageThe verb is transitive and usually describes actions within a virtual environment.
From Middle English greef, gref, from Old French grief (“grave, heavy, grievous, sad”), from Latin gravis (“heavy, grievous, sad”). Doublet of grave.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.