grievous C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈɡrivəs/ UK /ˈɡriːvəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj causing great suffering, harm, or sorrow; very serious His careless words caused her grievous pain. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · causing great suffering,... seriousseveregravedireegregiousheinouscalamitous ↔ Opposites trivialminorslightnegligible Word family Forms grievously Derived forms grievouslygrievousness Related forms griefgrievegrievancegravamen Appears in Proverbs (1) See all Trouble springs from idleness, and grievous toil from needless ease Etymology AI details From Old French grevos ('heavy, grievous'), from grief ('hardship'), from Latin gravis ('heavy'). grevos Old French gravis Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # grievous **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈɡrivəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈɡriːvəs/ ## Meanings 1. causing great suffering, harm, or sorrow; very serious ## Examples - His careless words caused her grievous pain. ## Synonyms - serious - severe - grave - dire - egregious - heinous - calamitous ## Antonyms - trivial - minor - slight - negligible ## Derived Forms - grievously - grievousness ## Related Forms - grief - grieve - grievance - gravamen ## Roots and Affixes - Root: grevos - Root: gravis ## Etymology From Old French grevos ('heavy, grievous'), from grief ('hardship'), from Latin gravis ('heavy'). ## AI Etymology Grievous is from Old French grevos ('heavy, grievous'), from grief ('hardship'), from Latin gravis ('heavy'). In present-day use, it means causing great suffering, harm, or sorrow; very serious. Derived formations include grievously and grievousness. Related vocabulary includes grief, grieve, grievance, and gravamen. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown