Grievous — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm

causing or marked by grief or anguish

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/hˈɑːɹɾeɪk/

🇬🇧British English

/ɡɹˈiːvəs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɡɹˈiːvəs/

2 syllables Say it as /hˈɑːɹɾeɪk/.

Examples

a dangerous operation
a grave situation
a grave illness

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

dangerous life-threatening severe weighty atrocious heavy heartrending flagitious monstrous serious grave heartbreaking

Parts of Speech

adjective	causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm “a dangerous operation”
adjective	causing or marked by grief or anguish “a grievous loss”
adjective	of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought “grave responsibilities”
adjective	shockingly brutal or cruel “murder is an atrocious crime”

Word Forms

dangerousness	noun	the quality of not being safe
seriousness	noun	the quality of arousing fear or distress
severeness	noun	used of the degree of something undesirable e.g. pain or weather
graveness	noun	a manner that is serious and solemn
gravity	noun	a manner that is serious and solemn
weightiness	noun	the relative importance granted to something
weight	noun	the relative importance granted to something
atrocity	noun	the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane
atrociousness	noun	the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane
monster	noun	a cruel wicked and inhuman person
monstrosity	noun	something hideous or frightful

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

schmerzlich

Angst oder Furcht hervorrufen, indem man mit großem Schaden droht

🇫🇷French

grave

provoquer de la peur ou de l'anxiété en menaçant de faire un grand mal

🇪🇸Spanish

grave

causar miedo o ansiedad amenazando con un gran daño

🇮🇹Italian

grave

causare paura o ansia minacciando gravi danni

🇳🇱Dutch

ernstig

het veroorzaken van angst of ongerustheid door te dreigen met grote schade

🇵🇹Portuguese

doloroso

causando medo ou ansiedade ao ameaçar grandes danos

🇷🇺Russian

печальный

вызвать страх или тревогу, угрожая причинить большой вред

India

🇮🇳Hindi

क्षतिकर

बड़े नुकसान की धमकी देकर डर या चिंता पैदा करना

🇧🇩Bengali

দুঃখজনক

বড় ক্ষতির হুমকি দিয়ে ভয় বা উদ্বেগ সৃষ্টি করা

🇮🇳Tamil

துயரமான

பெரும் தீங்கை அச்சுறுத்துவதன் மூலம் பயம் அல்லது கவலையை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

బాధాకరమైన

గొప్ప హానిని బెదిరించడం ద్వారా భయం లేదా ఆందోళన కలిగించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

गंभीर

मोठ्या हानीची धमकी देऊन भीती किंवा चिंता निर्माण करणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

ગંભીર

મહાન નુકસાનની ધમકી આપીને ભય અથવા ચિંતા પેદા કરવી

🇮🇳Kannada

ದುಃಖಕರ

ದೊಡ್ಡ ಹಾನಿಯನ್ನು ಬೆದರಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಭಯ ಅಥವಾ ಆತಂಕವನ್ನು ಉಂಟುಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദുഃഖകരമായ

വലിയ അപകടത്തെ ഭീഷണിപ്പെടുത്തി ഭയമോ ഉത്കണ്ഠയോ ഉണ്ടാക്കുന്നു

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਦੁਖਦਾਈ

ਬਹੁਤ ਨੁਕਸਾਨ ਦੀ ਧਮਕੀ ਦੇ ਕੇ ਡਰ ਜਾਂ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਪੈਦਾ ਕਰਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

دردناک

بڑے نقصان کی دھمکی دے کر خوف یا اضطراب پیدا کرنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

严重的

通过威胁造成巨大伤害来引起恐惧或焦虑

🇯🇵Japanese

悲惨な

大きな危害を与えると脅して恐怖や不安を引き起こす

🇰🇷Korean

괴롭게 하는

큰 해를 끼칠 것이라고 위협하여 두려움이나 불안을 유발하는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

đau buồn

gây sợ hãi hoặc lo lắng bằng cách đe dọa gây tổn hại lớn

🇹🇭Thai

สาหัส

ทำให้เกิดความกลัวหรือวิตกกังวลโดยขู่ว่าจะเกิดอันตรายอย่างใหญ่หลวง

🇮🇩Indonesian

menyedihkan

menyebabkan ketakutan atau kecemasan dengan ancaman bahaya besar

🇵🇭Filipino

malungkot

nagdudulot ng takot o pagkabalisa sa pamamagitan ng pagbabanta ng malaking pinsala

🇲🇾Malay

pedih

menyebabkan ketakutan atau kebimbangan dengan mengancam bahaya yang besar

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

حزين

التسبب في الخوف أو القلق عن طريق التهديد بإيذاء جسيم

🇮🇷Persian

دردناک

ایجاد ترس یا اضطراب با تهدید آسیب بزرگ

🇹🇷Turkish

kederli

Büyük zarar verme tehdidinde bulunarak korku veya endişeye neden olmak

🇮🇱Hebrew

חָמוּר

גרימת פחד או חרדה על ידי איום בנזק רב

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'grievous'?

The primary meaning of 'grievous' is 'causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'grievous' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'grievous' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'grievous' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'grievous' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'grievous' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'grievous' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'grievous' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'grievous' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'grievous' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'grievous' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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