ENGLISH
REFERENCE

grievous

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈɡɹivəs// UK //ɡɹˈiːvəs// griev·ous

adj. very serious, severe, or painful. It describes something that causes great suffering or harm.

adj. causing great pain, suffering, or severe injury; extremely serious or grave in nature. Often used in legal or medical contexts to describe physical harm or significant errors.


SIMPLE

The accident resulted in a grievous injury to his leg.

CONTEXTUAL

The company suffered a grievous financial loss after the main factory was forced to close.

COMPLEX

The judge noted that the defendant's actions constituted a grievous breach of trust, causing irreparable damage to the community's faith in the institution.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English grevous, from Anglo-Norman grevous, from Old French grever, from Latin gravō (“I burden”). Developed in the 13th century. Equivalent to grief + -ous.

Usage

Typically used to modify nouns representing harm, such as 'injury', 'error', 'loss', or 'harm'.

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