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Definition of "grieve" []

  • To cause to be sorrowful; distress: It grieves me to see you in such pain. (verb-transitive)
  • To mourn or sorrow for: We grieved the death of our pastor. (verb-transitive)
  • Usage Problem To file an official or formal grievance on account of (an actual or perceived injustice). (verb-transitive)
  • Archaic To hurt or harm. (verb-transitive)
  • To experience or express grief. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "grieve" in a sentence
  • "The only thing that the fossil fuel industries grieve is a decline in profits."
  • "To grieve is to be delighted with the snapshot prints and impulsively to order duplicates for Mother, only to remember that she died six months previously…and to say to the clerk, “Never mind.”"
  • "To grieve is to take two coffee cups from the cupboard in the morning, only to remember she left last month…and to have to put one cup back…."