grief

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Very deep sadness, especially after the death of someone you love.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable: she was overcome with grief; the plural griefs is rare.

   Patterns

   • grief over something
   • grief at something
   • grief for someone

   She was overwhelmed with grief when her grandmother died.

   The whole town shared the family's grief after the accident.

   He found it hard to talk about his grief for months.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   Trouble, criticism or annoyance caused by someone or something.

   Grammar: Used in the phrases give someone grief or get grief from someone.

   Patterns

   • give someone grief
   • get grief from someone

   My brother gave me grief for forgetting his birthday.

   You will get grief from the neighbors if you play music that late.

   The new software has caused us nothing but grief.

3. 3nouncountableformalold-fashioned

   A cause of sorrow or a painful loss.

   Grammar: Countable, mostly in older writing: his many griefs.

   Patterns

   • a grief to someone

   The loss of the farm was the greatest grief of his life.

   Her son's troubles were a constant grief to her.

Word forms

Common combinations

overcome with grief

He was overcome with grief at the funeral.

deep grief

The loss left her in deep grief.

come to grief

The expedition came to grief on the glacier.

give someone grief

Stop giving your sister grief about her haircut.

grief counselor

A grief counselor visited the school after the tragedy.

stricken with grief

The family was stricken with grief.

Synonyms and how they differ

sorrow

Sorrow is slightly more general and can be quieter, while grief is usually tied to a serious loss.

mourning

Mourning includes outward signs and customs of grief, whereas grief is the feeling itself.

heartache

Heartache is less formal and can follow disappointments in love, not only death.

anguish

Anguish stresses sharp, severe pain of mind, while grief can be quieter and longer lasting.

Opposites

Word family

grieve verb

to feel or show deep sorrow

grievous adjective

very serious or causing great pain

grief-stricken adjective

overwhelmed by sorrow

grievance noun

a complaint about unfair treatment

Commonly confused: grief or grieve?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “grief”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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