grief
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Grief \Grief\ (gr[=e]f), n. [OE. grief, gref, OF. grief, gref,
F. grief, L. gravis heavy; akin to Gr. bary`s, Skr. guru,
Goth. ka['u]rus. Cf. {Barometer}, {Grave}, a., {Grieve},
{Gooroo.}]
1. Pain of mind on account of something in the past; mental
suffering arising from any cause, as misfortune, loss of
friends, misconduct of one's self or others, etc.; sorrow;
sadness.
[1913 Webster]
The mother was so afflicted at the loss of a fine
boy, . . . that she died for grief of it. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
2. Cause of sorrow or pain; that which afficts or distresses;
trial; grievance.
[1913 Webster]
Be factious for redress of all these griefs. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Physical pain, or a cause of it; malady. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
This grief (cancerous ulcers) hastened the end of
that famous mathematician, Mr. Harriot. --Wood.
[1913 Webster]
{To come to grief}, to meet with calamity, accident, defeat,
ruin, etc., causing grief; to turn out badly. [Colloq.]
Syn: Affiction; sorrow; distress; sadness; trial; grievance.
Usage: {Grief}, {Sorrow}, {Sadness}. Sorrow is the generic
term; grief is sorrow for some definite cause -- one
which commenced, at least, in the past; sadness is
applied to a permanent mood of the mind. Sorrow is
transient in many cases; but the grief of a mother for
the loss of a favorite child too often turns into
habitual sadness. "Grief is sometimes considered as
synonymous with sorrow; and in this case we speak of
the transports of grief. At other times it expresses
more silent, deep, and painful affections, such as are
inspired by domestic calamities, particularly by the
loss of friends and relatives, or by the distress,
either of body or mind, experienced by those whom we
love and value." --Cogan. See {Affliction}.
[1913 Webster]
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
153 Moby Thesaurus words for "grief":
accident, ache, aching, aching heart, adversity, affliction, agony,
agony of mind, anguish, apologies, attrition, ayenbite of inwit,
bale, bemoaning, bewailing, bitterness, bleakness, bleeding heart,
blow, broken heart, burden, calamity, care, carking care, casualty,
cataclysm, catastrophe, cheerlessness, collision, come apart,
come to grief, come unstuck, comfortlessness, contretemps,
contriteness, contrition, crack-up, cramp, crash, crushing, curse,
cut, dejection, depression, depth of misery, desolation, despair,
despondency, difficulty, disaster, discomfort, dismalness,
distress, distressfulness, dole, dolor, dreariness, extremity,
fail, grievousness, heartache, heartbreak, heartfelt grief,
heartgrief, heavy heart, hurt, ill hap, infelicity, injury,
joylessness, lamentability, lamentation, lamenting, languishment,
lesion, load, melancholia, melancholy, misadventure, miscarry,
mischance, misery, misfortune, mishap, mournfulness, nasty blow,
onus, ordeal, pain, painfulness, pang, passion, pathos, pileup,
pining, pitiability, pitiableness, pitifulness, poignancy,
prostration, regret, regretfulness, regrets, regrettableness,
regretting, remorse, remorse of conscience, remorsefulness,
repining, rue, ruth, sadness, shame, shamefacedness, shamefastness,
shamefulness, sharpness, shipwreck, shock, smash, smashup, sore,
sore spot, sorriness, sorrow, sorrowfulness, sorrowing, spasm,
staggering blow, stress, stress of life, stroke, suffering,
suicidal despair, tender spot, throes, torment, tragedy, trauma,
travail, trial, tribulation, trouble, unhappiness, wistfulness,
woe, woebegoneness, woefulness, worry, wound, wreck, wrench,
wretchedness
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