grievance C2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings US /ˈɡɹiː.vəns/ See IPA manual 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 AI details 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 External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown