WordGarden.iogrieve
B2Pronunciation
UK
- /ɡrˈiːv/
US
- /ˈɡriv/
Meanings
Verb
to feel deep sorrow, especially after a death or loss
to make someone feel sad or distressed
to file a formal grievance about a workplace or institutional decision
Beyond the definition
To grieve is not just to feel sad; it is a deep emotional response to loss. It can be caused by the death of a loved one, but also by the end of a relationship, a missed chance, or even a dream that never comes true. Think of a willow tree weeping: that image captures the heavy sadness often linked to grief. You might grieve for someone who has died, grieve the loss of your youth, or grieve over a broken promise. It is a natural process, and everyone goes through it differently. As Shakespeare suggests in Macbeth, we must "give sorrow words," because silent grief can break the heart.
Grief is a profound emotional experience characterized by deep sorrow and often intense mental pain, typically experienced after a significant loss. While most commonly associated with death, you can grieve for many things—the end of a friendship, the loss of a job, or even the passing of time itself. It's not simply about being sad; it's a complex process involving a range of emotions including anger, denial, bargaining, and eventually acceptance (often referred to as the stages of grief).
The word grieve functions as a verb—"She grieved for her lost pet"—while the noun form, grief, refers to the feeling itself: "He was overcome with grief." It is important to remember that there is no right or wrong way to grieve, and the timeline is different for each person.
Historically, grieve comes from the Latin gravare, meaning "to make heavy" or "to burden." This etymology beautifully illustrates the "weight" of sorrow that a person carries. You might read about characters in literature who grieve openly, expressing their pain through tears and mourning rituals, or you might encounter someone quietly grieving, processing their loss internally.
Ultimately, while sadness is a common daily emotion, to grieve signifies a deeper, more prolonged experience of sorrow connected to a significant loss—a natural part of the human condition that deserves compassion and understanding.
Examples
- 1
Family loss
She is still grieving for her father, even after a year.
- 2
Relationship loss
People grieve in different ways after the end of a marriage.
- 3
Community mourning
The whole town grieved over the deaths of the firefighters.
- Patterngrieve over + sad event
feel deep sadness about it
- 4
Personal loss
He needed time to grieve the loss of his job and the future he had planned.
- Patterngrieve the loss of + something
feel deep sadness because it is gone
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Formal sadness
It grieves me to see old friends stop speaking to each other.
- Usageit grieves me to ...
a formal way to say something makes me very sad
See also
Similar
Shades of meaning
Contrast
Used with (collocations)
- grieve for someone
- grieve over a loss
- grieve deeply
Word family
Explore
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- grieveverb
Forms
- grieving-ing formverb
- grievedpast tenseverb
- grievesverb