a. | 1. | Causing grief or sorrow; painful; afflictive; hard to bear; offensive; harmful. |
2. | Characterized by great atrocity; heinous; aggravated; flagitious; | |
3. | Full of, or expressing, grief; showing great sorrow or affliction; |
Adj. | 1. | grievous - causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm; "a dangerous operation"; "a grave situation"; "a grave illness"; "grievous bodily harm"; "a serious wound"; "a serious turn of events"; "a severe case of pneumonia"; "a life-threatening disease" |
2. | grievous - causing or marked by grief or anguish; "a grievous loss"; "a grievous cry"; "her sigh was heartbreaking"; "the heartrending words of Rabin's granddaughter" Synonyms: heartbreaking, heartrending | |
3. | grievous - of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought; "grave responsibilities"; "faced a grave decision in a time of crisis"; "a grievous fault"; "heavy matters of state"; "the weighty matters to be discussed at the peace conference" | |
4. | grievous - shockingly brutal or cruel; "murder is an atrocious crime"; "a grievous offense against morality"; "a grievous crime"; "no excess was too monstrous for them to commit" |