1
as in harsh
difficult to endure
the months of chemotherapy seemed almost as grievous an affliction as the cancer itself
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2
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
the death of a spouse can be a grievous loss from which one never recovers
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3
as in dangerous
involving potential loss or injury
a grievous wound that requires a doctor's immediate attention
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4
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
the grievous cost of the war in human lives weighed heavily on the president's mind
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grievous
Accidental deaths are grievous enough without the specific reasons for anguish and anger in the Texas floods that took more than 120 lives.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 July 2025
Brown was arrested in May at a Manchester hotel and was charged with the count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, as well as assault causing actual bodily harm and carrying an offensive weapon.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
The idea that residents should trust a city coming off 30 years of grievous management errors to handle this task well is hard to believe.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 June 2025
Chris Brown entered a not guilty plea in his grievous bodily harm case this morning at a court in London.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for grievous
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 July 2025
Brown was arrested in May at a Manchester hotel and was charged with the count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, as well as assault causing actual bodily harm and carrying an offensive weapon.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
The idea that residents should trust a city coming off 30 years of grievous management errors to handle this task well is hard to believe.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 June 2025
Chris Brown entered a not guilty plea in his grievous bodily harm case this morning at a court in London.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for grievous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grievous
Adjective
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The once-beloved pastels will become harsh.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The pilgrimage, listed on the official calendar of jubilee events, comes as gay Catholics look to Pope Leo XIV to continue down the bold path of his predecessor to welcome into the church a group that has in the past faced alienation and sometimes harsh treatment.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Now supposedly dying from some terminal illness, Julian has gone total hermit mode inside of his cluttered London apartment, where the walls are festooned with the relics of his success and the backrooms are a junk pile of painful memories.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
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Dig a little deeper by comparing your top three financial goals and sharing your most painful and joyous money memories.—
Mary Clements Evans,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Whatever happens in their final qualifier, against Argentina on Tuesday, La Tri will travel to the World Cup next summer as one of South America’s most dangerous teams.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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To dissidents, she has been seen as a hero putting her life on the line; to Modi’s supporters, as a dangerous subversive who is anti-national and anti-Hindu.—
Anderson Tepper,
The Atlantic,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This was a senseless and tragic loss.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Sep. 2025
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Nicknamed Lucky and Lucky II, two baby pterosaurs who came to a tragic end.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There’s a significant battery life tax to pay for the microLED model’s searing brightness, too.—
Andrew Williams,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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But the gifted Argentinian auteur has never tackled the issue as directly as in Landmarks (Nuestra Tierra), a searing and detailed chronicle of murder, bigotry and robbery on a massive scale that also marks the director’s first feature-length documentary.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Because of the cruel math of throughput and utilization, over ten days, only three hundred people experienced Blur.—
Charlie Fink,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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Tamra was awful to Gretchen back then, culminating in the Naked Wasted Party, which was one of the cruelest things to ever happen on Housewives.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Try dropping these items at a local hazardous waste disposal site.—
Nafeesah Allen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Sep. 2025
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Longshore currents can sweep swimmers and surfers into rip currents, piers, jetties, and other hazardous areas.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This was the unfortunate and tragic outcome.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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This latest ‘oopsie’ also fits an unfortunate pattern.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grievous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grievous. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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