grief
n. · v.-
1 deep sadness (n.) B2 Upper Intermediatethe very strong feeling of sadness you have when someone you love dies.
intense emotional suffering caused by loss, particularly the death of a loved one. Uncountable in its general sense, though specific instances may be countable.
ExampleShe felt a deep sense of grief after her grandfather passed away last year.
ExampleThe community came together to support the family in their grief, offering both emotional comfort and practical assistance during the mourning period.
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2 trouble or annoyance (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate Informaltrouble, problems, or criticism from someone.
trouble, annoyance, or verbal harassment. Often used in the idiom 'to give someone grief'.
ExampleMy boss gave me a lot of grief for arriving ten minutes late to the meeting.
ExampleHe decided to quit the team because he was tired of the constant grief he received from the fans after every loss.
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3 to harass in a game (v.) C1 Advanced Slang Computingto deliberately annoy or ruin the game for other players in an online video game.
to deliberately harass other players in a multiplayer online game, typically by using game mechanics to destroy their work or prevent progress.
ExampleSome players enjoy griefing beginners by destroying the houses they spent hours building.
ExampleThe 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.