grievance

C2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈɡɹiː.vəns/ See IPA manual

noun Freq #23955

Meanings

1

noun
A complaint about being treated unfairly, especially one serious enough to act on.

Several employees raised the same grievance about their long working hours.
2

noun
A formal complaint made through official channels, as in a workplace or union.

If you want the problem fixed, you will have to file a grievance with the city.
3

noun
A feeling of resentment or bitterness about being wronged.

He nursed a deep grievance against the colleague who took credit for his work.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

gravamen

Word family

Forms grievances

Derived forms grievancerpregrievance

Etymology

From Old French grievance, from the verb grever (“to irritate; to bother; to annoy”) + -ance, equivalent to grieve + -ance.

*gʷreh₂- Proto-Indo-European grievance Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Register & Style

# grievance

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈɡɹiː.vəns
**Frequency rank:** 23955

## Meanings
1. A complaint about being treated unfairly, especially one serious enough to act on.
2. A formal complaint made through official channels, as in a workplace or union.
3. A feeling of resentment or bitterness about being wronged.

## Examples
- Several employees raised the same grievance about their long working hours.
- If you want the problem fixed, you will have to file a grievance with the city.
- He nursed a deep grievance against the colleague who took credit for his work.

## Synonyms
- gravamen

## Derived Forms
- grievancer
- pregrievance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʷreh₂-
- Root: grievance

## Etymology
From Old French grievance, from the verb grever (“to irritate; to bother; to annoy”) + -ance, equivalent to grieve + -ance.

## AI Etymology
Grievance is from Old French grievance, from the verb grever (“to irritate; to bother; to annoy”) + -ance, equivalent to grieve + -ance. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *gʷreh₂- (Proto-Indo-European) and grievance (Old French). Current senses include a complaint about being treated unfairly, especially one serious enough to act on and a formal complaint made through official channels, as in a workplace or union. The wider family includes derived forms such as grievancer and pregrievance.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Register & Style

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