Grief — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun /ˈgrēf/

Meaning & Definition of Grief

Grief (noun)

  1. deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement
  2. a cause of such suffering
  3. trouble, annoyance

Grief (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. deep sadness especially for the loss of someone or something loved

    "even the gruff grandfather felt a heartbreaking grief when the family dog died"

    similar: affliction, anguish, dolefulness, dolor, heartache, heartbreak, sorriness, sorrow, woe
    related: agony, distress, pain, suffering, torment, blue devils, blues, dejection, depression, desolateness, desolation, despair, despondence, despondency, disconsolateness, dispiritedness, doldrums, downheartedness, dreariness, dumps, forlornness, gloom, gloominess, glumness, heartsickness, joylessness, melancholy, miserableness, misery, mopes, oppression, sorrowfulness, unhappiness, woefulness, wretchedness, contrition, guilt, regret, remorse, rue, self-reproach, shame, melancholia, self-pity
    opposite: blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, cheer, cheerfulness, cheeriness, delight, ecstasy, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, exuberance, exultation, felicity, gladness, gladsomeness, glee, gleefulness, happiness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, jubilation, pleasure, rapture, rapturousness
    near: gaiety, gayness, humor, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, merrymaking, mirth, mirthfulness, hopefulness, optimism, sunniness, enjoyment, content, contentedness, contentment

  2. the feeling of impatience or anger caused by another's repeated disagreeable acts

    "there seemed to be no end to the grief that the school bullies were giving to the young boy"

    similar: aggravation, aggro (British), annoyance, bother, botheration, exasperation, frustration, irritation, pip (chiefly British), vexation
    related: agitation, discomfort, displeasure, distress, disturbance, upset, irritability, irritableness, peeve, perturbation, pet, pique, resentment, snappishness, trouble, anger, angriness, chafe, dander, dudgeon, gall, huff, indignation, irateness, ire, outrage, umbrage
    near: delight, pleasure

Related Entry: Come to grief (phrase)

Come to grief is a different word from Grief. The synonyms below are for come to grief, not for grief.

  1. to be unsuccessful

    "His plans came to grief after a series of unforeseen setbacks."

    similar: bomb, collapse, crater, fail, flame out, flop, flunk, fold, founder, miss, strike out, tank, wash out, come a cropper, come up empty, die on the vine, fall flat, fall on one's face, fall short, lay an egg
    related: flounder, struggle, decline, sink, skid, slip, slump, wane, crash, crumble, miscarry, misfire, go under, implode, self-destruct
    opposite: click, come off, deliver, go, go over, pan out, succeed, work out
    near: cook, flourish, prosper, thrive, prevail, triumph, win

  2. to go wrong

    "The expedition came to grief in the vast frozen expanse."

    similar: miscarry, misfire, come a cropper, fall flat, fall short
    related: miss, break down, bust, conk (out), crash, die, fail, founder, stall, bomb, fizzle, flame out, flop, flunk, fold, wash out, flounder, struggle, decline, skid, slip, slump, tank, wane
    near: prevail, succeed, flourish, prosper, thrive

Related Entry: Came to grief (phrase)

Came to grief is a different word from Grief. The synonyms below are for came to grief, not for grief.

  1. to be unsuccessful

    "His plans came to grief after a series of unforeseen setbacks."

    similar: bombed, collapsed, cratered, failed, flamed out, flopped, flunked, folded, foundered, missed, struck out, tanked, washed out, came a cropper, came up empty, died on the vine, fell flat, fell on one's face, fell short, laid an egg
    related: floundered, struggled, declined, sank, skidded, slipped, slumped, waned, crashed, crumbled, miscarried, misfired, went under, imploded, self-destructed
    opposite: came off, clicked, delivered, panned out, succeeded, went, went over, worked out
    near: cooked, flourished, prospered, thrived, prevailed, triumphed, won

  2. to go wrong

    "The expedition came to grief in the vast frozen expanse."

    similar: miscarried, misfired, came a cropper, fell flat, fell short
    related: missed, broke down, busted, conked (out), crashed, died, failed, foundered, stalled, bombed, fizzled, flamed out, flopped, flunked, folded, washed out, floundered, struggled, declined, skidded, slipped, slumped, tanked, waned
    near: prevailed, succeeded, flourished, prospered, thrived

Related Entry: Comes to grief (phrase)

Comes to grief is a different word from Grief. The synonyms below are for comes to grief, not for grief.

  1. to be unsuccessful

    "His plans came to grief after a series of unforeseen setbacks."

    similar: bombs, collapses, craters, fails, flames out, flops, flunks, folds, founders, misses, strikes out, tanks, washes out, comes a cropper, comes up empty, dies on the vine, falls flat, falls on one's face, falls short, lays an egg
    related: flounders, struggles, declines, sinks, skids, slips, slumps, wanes, crashes, crumbles, miscarries, misfires, goes under, implodes, self-destructs
    opposite: clicks, comes off, delivers, goes, goes over, pans out, succeeds, works out
    near: cooks, flourishes, prospers, thrives, prevails, triumphs, wins

  2. to go wrong

    "The expedition came to grief in the vast frozen expanse."

    similar: miscarries, misfires, comes a cropper, falls flat, falls short
    related: misses, breaks down, busts, conks (out), crashes, dies, fails, founders, stalls, bombs, fizzles, flames out, flops, flunks, folds, washes out, flounders, struggles, declines, skids, slips, slumps, tanks, wanes
    near: prevails, succeeds, flourishes, prospers, thrives

Related Entry: Coming to grief (phrase)

Coming to grief is a different word from Grief. The synonyms below are for coming to grief, not for grief.

  1. to be unsuccessful

    "His plans came to grief after a series of unforeseen setbacks."

    similar: bombing, collapsing, cratering, failing, flaming out, flopping, flunking, folding, foundering, missing, striking out, tanking, washing out, coming a cropper, coming up empty, dying on the vine, falling flat, falling on one's face, falling short, laying an egg
    related: floundering, struggling, declining, sinking, skidding, slipping, slumping, waning, crashing, crumbling, miscarrying, misfiring, going under, imploding, self-destructing
    opposite: clicking, coming off, delivering, going, going over, panning out, succeeding, working out
    near: cooking, flourishing, prospering, thriving, prevailing, triumphing, winning

  2. to go wrong

    "The expedition came to grief in the vast frozen expanse."

    similar: miscarrying, misfiring, coming a cropper, falling flat, falling short
    related: missing, breaking down, busting, conking (out), crashing, dying, failing, foundering, stalling, bombing, fizzling, flaming out, flopping, flunking, folding, washing out, floundering, struggling, declining, skidding, slipping, slumping, tanking, waning
    near: prevailing, succeeding, flourishing, prospering, thriving

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Grief

The most common words with a similar meaning to Grief:

British: aggro
Chiefly British: pip
affliction, anguish, dolefulness, dolor, heartache, heartbreak, sorriness, sorrow, woe, aggravation, annoyance, bother, botheration, exasperation, frustration, irritation, vexation

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Grief

Words with the opposite meaning of Grief:

blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, cheer, cheerfulness, cheeriness, delight, ecstasy, elatedness, elation, euphoria, exhilaration, exuberance, exultation, felicity, gladness, gladsomeness, glee, gleefulness, happiness, joy, joyfulness, joyousness, jubilation, pleasure, rapture, rapturousness

Related Words for Grief

agony, distress, pain, suffering, torment, blue devils, blues, dejection, depression, desolateness, desolation, despair, despondence, despondency, disconsolateness, dispiritedness, doldrums, downheartedness, dreariness, dumps, forlornness, gloom, gloominess, glumness, heartsickness, joylessness, melancholy, miserableness, misery, mopes

Near Antonyms of Grief

gaiety, gayness, humor, jollity, joviality, lightheartedness, merriment, merrymaking, mirth, mirthfulness, hopefulness, optimism, sunniness, enjoyment, content, contentedness, contentment

Origin & Etymology of Grief

Middle English gref, grefe, greef, grief "hardship, distress, hurt, anger, sorrow," borrowed from Anglo-French gref "burden, molestation, wrong, hurt, hardship, calamity" (continental Old French grief), noun derivative of gref "heavy, burdensome, harsh, grievous," going back to Vulgar Latin *grevis, alteration (by association with its antonym levis "light in weight") of Latin gravis "heavy, oppressive, serious" grave:2

First known use: 15th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Grief

Words & Phrases Containing Grief

grief-stricken, come to grief, good grief

Frequently Asked Questions about Grief

What does "Grief" mean?

"Grief" means deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement. As a noun, it is defined as: deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement. It has 2 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Grief"?

Other words for "Grief" include affliction, anguish, dolefulness, dolor, heartache, heartbreak, sorriness and sorrow. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Grief" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Grief"?

There are 89 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Grief". Common alternatives include affliction, anguish, dolefulness, dolor, heartache, heartbreak, sorriness, sorrow, woe and aggravation.

What is the opposite of "Grief"?

Antonyms of "Grief" include blessedness, bliss, blissfulness, cheer, cheerfulness, cheeriness, delight and ecstasy. Near antonyms include gaiety, gayness, humor and jollity.

How do you use "Grief" in a sentence?

Examples of "Grief" in a sentence: "even the gruff grandfather felt a heartbreaking grief when the family dog died"; "there seemed to be no end to the grief that the school bullies were giving to the young boy".

Is "Grief" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Grief" is a noun.

Is "Grief" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C1-level word, "Grief" is typical of Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS band 7.0–8.0, TOEFL iBT 95–113, PTE Academic 76–84, TOEIC Listening & Reading 945+. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Grief"?

"Grief" is pronounced /ˈgrēf/.