Thesaurus
grievous
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of GRIEVOUS
1
difficult to endure <the months of chemotherapy seemed almost as grievous an affliction as the cancer itself>
Synonyms bitter, brutal, burdensome, cruel, excruciating, grievous, grim, hard, hardhanded, heavy, inhuman, murderous, onerous, oppressive, rough, rugged, searing, severe, stiff, tough, trying
Related Words austere, bleak, comfortless, discomforting, forbidding, inhospitable, spartan, uncomfortable; biting, inclement, intemperate, wild; rigorous, strict, stringent; agonizing, heartbreaking, heartrending, painful, wretched; crushing, grinding, overwhelming, wearing; insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unbearable, unendurable; harrowing, tortuous; bad, disagreeable, hostile, unfriendly, unpleasant
2
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally <the death of a spouse can be a grievous loss from which one never recovers>
Synonyms afflicting, agonizing, cruel, excruciating, galling, grievous, harrowing, harsh, heartrending, hurtful, painful, tormenting, torturous
Related Words insufferable, insupportable, intolerable, unacceptable, unbearable, unendurable, unsupportable; appalling, awful, bad, dire, dreadful, ghastly, horrible, miserable, nasty, rotten, severe, terrible, vile, wretched; acute, extreme, intense, piercing
Near Antonyms bearable, endurable, supportable, sustainable, tolerable; livable (also liveable), sufferable, survivable; acceptable, allowable, reasonable
3
involving potential loss or injury <a grievous wound that requires a doctor's immediate attention>
Synonyms grave, grievous, hazardous, jeopardizing, menacing, parlous, perilous, risky, serious, threatening, unhealthy, unsafe, venturesome
Related Words dicey, insecure, precarious, treacherous, uncertain; ultrahazardous; chance, haphazard, random; distressing, sickening, unpleasant; ugly, wicked; adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, inimical, injurious, malignant, nasty, noxious, pernicious, pestilent; deadly, deathly, destructive, dire, fatal, fateful, fell, killer, lethal, mortal, murderous
4
of a kind to cause great distress <the grievous cost of the war in human lives weighed heavily on the president's mind>
Synonyms deplorable, distressful, distressing, grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending, lamentable, tragic (also tragical), unfortunate, unlucky, woeful
Related Words troublesome, vexatious; affecting, doleful, moving, piteous, poignant, ruthful, touching; awful, dire, dreadful, fearful, severe, terrible; alarming, disturbing, perturbing, traumatic, unsettling; crushing, excruciating, harrowing, horrible, horrifying, intolerable, overwhelming, shocking, sickening, unbearable; miserable, pitiful, sad, wretched; calamitous, disastrous; painful, raging, sharp
Near Antonyms gratifying, pleasing, rewarding, satisfying; comforting, encouraging, heartening; cheering, heartwarming, inspiring; fortunate, happy, lucky
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