Dictionary / grief
grief
- noun
- verb
- from Old French
Suffering, hardship.
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “grief” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- countableuncountableSuffering, hardship.
The neighbour's teenagers give me grief every time they see me.
- countableuncountableEmotional pain, generally arising from misfortune, significant personal loss, bereavement, misconduct of oneself or others, etc.; sorrow; sadness.
She was worn out from so much grief.
- countableA cause or instance of sorrow or pain; that which afflicts or distresses; a trial.
Surely, he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 53:4:
verb
- InternetTo deliberately harass and annoy or cause grief to other players of a game in order to interfere with their enjoyment of it; especially, to do this as one’s primary activity in the game, and especially by exploiting game mechanics without using cheats to do so, often through acts of destruction or vandalism.
Cross-check: WordNet senses (2)
- nounintense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death) — also: heartache, heartbreak, brokenheartedness
- nounsomething that causes great unhappiness — also: sorrow
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)grief
- Middle Englishgreef
- Old Frenchgrief “grave, heavy, grievous, sad”
- Latingravis “heavy, grievous, sad”
From Middle English greef, gref, from Old French grief (“grave, heavy, grievous, sad”), from Latin gravis (“heavy, grievous, sad”). Doublet of grave.
Derivatives — words built from “grief”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “grief” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “grief” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
grief n. [OE. grief, gref, OF. grief, gref, F. grief, L. gravis heavy; akin to Gr. bary`s, Skr. guru, Goth. ka. Cf. Barometer, Grave, a., Grieve, Gooroo.]
- Pain of mind on account of something in the past; mental suffering arising from any cause, as misfortune, loss of friends, misconduct of one's self or others, etc.; sorrow; sadness.
- Cause of sorrow or pain; that which afficts or distresses; trial; grievance.
- Physical pain, or a cause of it; malady.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: Suffering, hardship.
The neighbour's teenagers give me grief every time they see me.
nounMeaning: Emotional pain, generally arising from misfortune, significant personal loss, bereavement, misconduct of oneself or others, etc.; sorrow; sadness.
She was worn out from so much grief.
The betrayal caused Jeff grief.
nounMeaning: A cause or instance of sorrow or pain; that which afflicts or distresses; a trial.
Surely, he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 53:4:
nounMeaning: something that causes great unhappiness
her death was a great grief to John
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
grief
/ɡɹiːf/
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
grief
/ɡɹiːf/ · noun, verb
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “grief” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“The neighbour's teenagers give me grief every time they see me.”
Circle the meaning used.
“She was worn out from so much grief.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “grief” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Latin gravis. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — grief
Which meaning, sentence 1: A. Suffering, hardship.
Which meaning, sentence 2: A. Emotional pain, generally arising from misfortune, significant personal loss, bereavement, misconduct of oneself or others, etc.; sorrow; sadness.
Origin: C. Old French (Old French grief)
Journey: English grief ← Middle English greef ← Old French grief ← Latin gravis
Some derivatives: eco-grief, ecogrief, griefbot, griefful, griefless, grieflike, griefsome, grief-stricken
Original meaning: Latin gravis — “heavy, grievous, sad”
Etymology: From Middle English greef, gref, from Old French grief (“grave, heavy, grievous, sad”), from Latin gravis (“heavy, grievous, sad”). Doublet of grave.
Sources: Wiktionary “grief” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grief#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/grief