grievous

English

Alternative forms

• greuous (obsolete)
• grievious (less common outside dialects)

Etymology

From grieve, from the Middle English greven, from the Old French grever, from Latin gravare (which means to burden). Developed in the 13th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡriː.vəs/
• Rhymes: -iːvəs
• (nonstandard outside dialects) IPA^(key): /ɡɹiː.viː.əs/ (often used in conjunction with the spelling grievious)

Adjective

grievous (comparative more grievous, superlative most grievous)

1. Causing grief, pain or sorrow.
   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     As for the captain, his wounds were grievous indeed but not dangerous.

2. Serious, grave, dire or dangerous.

Translations

causing grief, pain or sorrow

• Dutch: pijnlijk (nl)
• Russian: мучительный (ru) (mučítelʹnyj), печальный (ru) (pečálʹnyj)

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:lamentable