grievous
26
7.9
- adjective
- /ˈɡriːvəs/
- Formal
:
grave
- Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas called suicide a grievous sin and located its source within the deficient person.
- grievous loss
- grievous injury
- grievous mistake
We saw that with the CDC and the FDA making grievous mistakes early on.
- We saw that with the CDC and the FDA making grievous mistakes early on.
- Since that time, I've made grievous errors and judgments that I must live with those.
- But with these cases, the court says some crimes so grievous an affront to society that they can be punished by the death penalty.
- And he says, look at, you know, Paul being angry at the Corinthians and how it delivered them from a grievous pest.
Examples
-
My fello w Americans... ...our country has suffered a grievous loss.
-
Abuse is such a grievous flaw that it negates any good qualities.
Academic text (2001) -
It's a grievous sin you have committed.
-
If she did so, she would be offering a grievous insult to the young friend of her mentor.
Fiction book (1990) -
There's been a grievous error.
-
But he also is undoing some of the grievous grave damage that was done in the last four years.
-
It inflicted grievous and irreparable injury.
-
Your complicity in maintaining the captivity of this boy, even after you became aware of the seriousness of the situation, has associated you with grievous crimes.
-
The community was devastated by the grievous loss of their beloved leader.
-
The accident caused grievous injuries to several passengers.
Synonyms
∞
2.7
Likely to cause great harm or danger
737
1.0
Making someone feel physical hurt or strong emotional upset
520
3.5
Very strong and harmful, often causing great damage
363
4.5
Causing strong sadness or a feeling of burden
181
4.2
Very serious and needing careful attention
92
3.7
Causing someone to feel very sad and upset
89
3.9
Too painful or unpleasant to stand
46
7.9
Causing very strong physical or mental pain
7
5.9
Causing very strong physical or emotional pain
2
7.8
Causes people to feel very sad
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word grievous comes from an old root gravis meaning 'heavy', and you can see the same idea in grave and gravity. So a grievous loss or injury is like a 'heavy' one — very serious and full of sorrow.