1
: causing or characterized by severe pain, suffering, or sorrow
a grievous wound
a grievous loss
2
: oppressive, onerous
grievous costs of war
grievously
adverb
grievousness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of grievous in a Sentence
the grievous cost of war
He took a foolish financial risk and suffered a grievous loss.
Recent Examples on the Web
Overwhelmed staff there briefly looked at his grievous head injuries and assumed Tawfiq was dead.
—
Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 18 June 2024
Clandestine election interference poses a grievous attack on our democracy, but the irony here is palpable.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 7 June 2024
What Ventura alleges is more harrowing than anything in the years of cavalier gossip-page and forum rumors about the pair: grievous harm and mortification even as Diddy made bubbly late-night and daytime television appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2024
Its war in Gaza has inflicted grievous blows on Hamas, and the group is unlikely to be able to carry out another comparable attack for some time, if ever.
—Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grievous 
Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 18 June 2024
Clandestine election interference poses a grievous attack on our democracy, but the irony here is palpable.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 7 June 2024
What Ventura alleges is more harrowing than anything in the years of cavalier gossip-page and forum rumors about the pair: grievous harm and mortification even as Diddy made bubbly late-night and daytime television appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2024
Its war in Gaza has inflicted grievous blows on Hamas, and the group is unlikely to be able to carry out another comparable attack for some time, if ever.
—Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grievous
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grievous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near grievous
Cite this Entry
“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grievous. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
grievous
adjective
griev·ous
ˈgrē-vəs 
1
: heavy entry 1 sense 2, severe
the grievous cost of war
2
: causing pain, suffering, or sorrow
a grievous wound
3
: serious sense 4, grave
a grievous mistake
grievously
adverb
grievousness
noun
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