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grievable

grievable

7.3
Able to be reported as an official complaint to a company or union
  • adjective
  • /ˈɡriːvəbl/
  • Formal
translation icon : reclamable
  • If the employee feels wronged, they can file a grievable complaint with the management.
  • recognizable and grievable

Examples

  • In a workplace, issues that are unjustly ignored are considered grievable by human resources.

  • In Frames of War: When is Life Grievable?

    Academic text (2013)
  • Butler, Judith. Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable?

    Academic text (2013)
  • In the process, the operations of the frames that render Norah's life more recognizable and grievable than the life of the unknown woman come into view.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Whereas "the woman was never identified," Norah herself is "instantly recognizable to members of her family," even from behind, and the framing of the self-immolation makes Norah's trauma seem both more recognizable and more grievable.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The unfair treatment of employees makes their concerns grievable in court.

Surface Forms

grievable positive

Morphology

grievable = grieve (semi-transparent) = grieve + able

Formed by the regular verb+ -able pattern, but the workplace/legal sense relies on 'grievance/complaint' meaning which is not the prototypical sense of 'grieve' for many learners.

Etymology

The word grievable comes from grieve, which is related to grief, and the ending -able that means 'able to'. In workplace and legal language the idea of grieve is seen in the word grievance, a formal complaint, so grievable means something you 'can be the subject of a complaint'.