griefgrief /ɡriːf/ ●●○ noun 
The grief she felt over Helen’s death was almost unbearable.with grief Charles was overcome with grief.2[countable] something that makes you feel extremely sad: Every change in our lives brings with it griefs.3good grief! spoken used when you are slightly surprised or annoyed: Good grief! What a mess!4come to grief to fail, or to be harmed or destroyed in an accident: candidates who come to grief in exams5give somebody grief informal to criticize someone in an annoying way6[uncountable] informal trouble or problems: You’ll save yourself a lot of grief if you check the measurements first.
WORD ORIGINgrief
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French gref, from Latin gravis; ➔ GRAVE1EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
- Thousands of people sent floral tributes as an expression of their grief.
- We didn't say much, but his grief was obvious.
- All the boy knew in that circumstance was grief and worry and surprise and rage.
- It is his own mind's way of coping with the grief, and he knows it.
- She'd thought it was Anna, snuffling in her sleep or from grief.
- The oil caused enough grief in Scapa Flow at the time.
- This will only bring about grief for what do we really know about ourselves or some one else?
- Tomorrow, he decided, he must press her to a full disclosure of the grief harboured in her heart.
- Whatever pangs of grief and guilt and shame Emilia might suffer had remained locked inside her, an unapproachable wound.
- When my child died I might have given way to grief as I loved him very much.
THESAURUS
a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else’s unhappiness: · Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss.· I noticed a little sadness in her eyes.
the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation, especially when this lasts for a long time: · After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him.· She was a tense, nervous young woman, whose deep unhappiness was obvious to all those around her.· You do not know how much pain and unhappiness you have caused.
written the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you: · There seemed to be nowhere to go to be alone with her sorrow.· His heart was filled with great sorrow after her death.
great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions: · The cold weather is with us again and the misery of the homeless is increasing.· Thousands of families were destined to a life of misery.· The misery and pain he caused were, for him, merely a measure of his success.
a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change: · At the end of the month, she still had no job and was tired, frustrated, and close to despair.
great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died: · He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
a strong feeling of great sadness, especially because you miss someone you love: · She remembered the heartache of the first Christmas spent away from her sons.
a mental illness that makes someone feel so unhappy that they have no energy or hope for the future, and they cannot live a normal life: · He slipped into a depression in which he hardly ate or even left his room.
formal a feeling of being very unhappy and without hope: · She felt useless, and this contributed to her despondency.
literary a feeling of sadness, that you feel even though there is no particular reason for it: · Modigliani expressed his melancholy through his painting.
Longman Language Activatora sad feeling a sad feeling, caused especially when a happy time is ending, or when you feel sorry about someone else's unhappiness: · Her eyes were full of sadness.with (great) sadness: · I remembered with great sadness all the friends I had left behind.sense of sadness: · After her death, Charles felt a great sense of sadness and loss.
the unhappy feeling you have when you are in a very difficult or unpleasant situation: · After years of unhappiness, she finally decided to leave him.· There is no doubt that unhappiness contributes to ill health.· You've no idea what unhappiness you cause your parents when you say that you want to leave home.
especially written great sadness that you feel when someone you love has died: · Thousands of people sent floral tributes as an expression of their grief.· He was overcome with grief when his wife died.
a mental illness that makes someone feel so unhappy that they have no energy or hope for the future, and they cannot live a normal life: · The family had a history of alcoholism and depression.· Mild symptoms of anxiety and depression are often associated with social difficulties.deep/severe depression: · My father had suffered from severe depression for many years.
a feeling of sadness that is not very serious, that you get sometimes for no particular reason: get/have the blues: · I often get the blues in February, before the spring arrives.a fit of the blues: · It's very common for new mothers to have a fit of the blues after giving birth.the Monday/post-Christmas etc blues: · Most people know what it's like to have the Monday morning blues.
great unhappiness, caused especially by living or working in very bad conditions: · The high interest rates caused misery for millions of people.the misery of something/somebody: · He talked openly about the misery of his marriage.· We cannot ignore the misery of the people in this country who are forced to live on the streets.
written a feeling of sadness, especially one that continues for a long time: · He was a strange man, prone to melancholy and bouts of drinking.· Jake was fourteen and suffering from adolescent melancholy.
written the feeling of being very sad, especially because someone has died or because terrible things have happened to you: · deep/great sorrow: · The deep sorrow she felt was obvious in the expression of her face.in sorrow: · He turned quickly away, more in sorrow than in anger.to somebody's sorrow: · Six weeks later we heard, to our great sorrow, that he had died.
a feeling of unhappiness and worry, that often continues for a long time and is usually caused by problems in your personal life and relationships: · Her relationship with Tyler had brought her a great deal of heartache.· Being unpopular at school can cause real heartache to children of any age.save/spare (somebody) a lot of heartache (=stop someone worrying and feeling unhappy): · If she had simply called them, her parents would have been spared a lot of heartache.
formal a feeling of unhappiness, especially because you have been very disappointed and feel that you cannot change a situation: · Robyn walked away from the hospital with a feeling of despondency.· The sense of well-being of the 1980s was replaced by a mood of despondency.gloom/doom and despondency: · The atmosphere amongst the workers was one of gloom and despondency.
a feeling of great unhappiness, because very bad things have happened and you have no hope that anything will change: · I could see hunger, exhaustion and despair in their eyes.· There was a mood of despair about the quality of urban and industrial life.in despair: · Left all alone in her room, she was in despair.the depths of despair: · It seems that he had reached the depths of despair, and he finally took his own life.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES He was crazed with grief after the death of his mother. When she heard of her son’s death, she was mad with grief.
· The decision brought him great relief.
He was crazed with grief after the death of his mother. (=say or show that you are very sad, especially because someone you love has died)· She searched for further words to express her grief, but could find none.
When she heard of her son’s death, she was mad with grief. (=showing your emotions so that everyone can see) She was acutely embarrassed by his public display of temper.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE She was acutely embarrassed by his public display of temper.· You find out how many diameters make a circumference! Good grief, have you no brains at all?· Indy Racing League civil war. Good grief.· It's Lady Godiva and - good grief - those are naked bosoms.· But it smelled awful. Good grief!
· A great grief has fallen upon the kingdom and there is deep apprehension for the future.
· He had kept away from the house, not wanting to intrude on the Bonnards' private grief.· To only a few had he been the devil who gloated over their private grief.· As to his reference to rugby league, I plead ignorance and will not interfere with private griefs.· Midge protested at what she saw as bureaucratic interference in what should have been a private grief.
· His funeral in Algiers on July 1 was the scene of demonstrations of public grief by a crowd of at least 10,000.· A public show of grief acknowledges that fact.· A sense of release is created by such public demonstrations of grief that clearly triggers many people into dealing with their feelings.· After his body was returned to Kinshasa, carefully planned scenes of public grief turned into a mass demonstration of patriotic fervour.· He said the public grief and that of the bereaved families has been enormous.
NOUN· Further, there is a significant grief reaction to giving up the substance or process of addiction itself.· Could her refusal be part of a prolonged grief reaction to her sister's death and to her miserable marriage?· It follows that affirmative assessors must be able to discriminate at least between these two types of grief reaction.
VERB· Every change in our lives brings with it griefs, even changes for the better.· This was evidently a family that was not going to be brought closer by grief.· This will only bring about grief for what do we really know about ourselves or some one else?
· Just as I had fired up the cooker the cat rod that had caused me all the grief earlier was off again.· But until then I had no inkling that pictures of black women would cause newspaper executives such grief.· Normally this would have caused me considerable grief, but this time I was prepared to tough it out.· And while the budget negotiations are causing grief right now for front-running Sen.· The oil caused enough grief in Scapa Flow at the time.· The breakup caused no lasting anger, but it did cause grief and tears.· But they were used in another manner, as well, that caused much grief for everyone involved.· He also re-members the massive enemy tunnel network that caused so much grief and frustration.
· She'd come to grief acting like that, but not from him.· Far from remaining a hero, he came to grief.· The reductivist enterprise thus inevitably comes to grief, and it is not altogether surprising that it does.· This is often far from the case and many a combination has come to grief at the very last fence.· Then might not the rotting stump of the tree split under their weight and they come to grief?· When it comes to that interesting pastime, most members of most species come to grief.· But out of sight at the other end of the course, Mr Hill had also come to grief.
· But others in the professional psychological field regard the institution as an effective and important way of dealing with grief.· A session Saturday morning dealt with getting through grief and dealing with the burn injuries.· To some extent, adults can choose of their own free will whether to deal with their grief or not.· In doing so they will not only be dealing with grief and loss, but also rethinking their own daily living arrangements.
· These notices are sometimes the only way the agnostic or the non-church member can find of expressing their grief.· The faces and bodies of the three black women express various degrees of grief, uncertainty and pain.· In close communities like mines, the workers have been able to express both grief and anger openly.· Other issues that develop are concerned with caring people who wish to help relatives and friends express their grief.· Churches were safe places to meet to express grief, and huge numbers gathered to light candles.· Sessions four, five and six During these sessions she was further encouraged to express her feelings of grief.
· When he died, she felt no real grief.· She felt that extremes of grief or pleasure were vulgar, and placed control high on her list of priorities.· She was, of course, quite well in the sense of feeling no actual grief or pain.· But I doubt whether anyone is feeling a purely personal grief.· People felt collective shame, grief and responsibility.· She felt no grief, but a dull anger thudded like a drum in her temple.· Their names have never appeared in the media, which shared the feeling of shame and grief and responsibility.· They felt no grief and experienced no real sense of loss.
· I can't remember his name though! emailinc Sounds like some one is giving you grief?· And if you gave them any grief at all, they said they would just kick her out.· These calls, they gave me no grief.· When my child died I might have given way to grief as I loved him very much.· Fans are sure to give him a fair trial before they give him any grief.· Business development managers also interview heads of functional areas within eBay to discover what aspects of past deals gave them grief.· One set was given grief therapy and the other sent on a community programme.
· He was not overwhelmed with grief for Kit, but evidently his eyes felt otherwise.· When Alcyone learned what he was planning she was overwhelmed with grief and terror.· I was overwhelmed by grief and revulsion such as I had never known before.· When she was gone he was overwhelmed with grief and de creed that she should have the most magnificent of funerals.
· I feel pretty helpless, have a good cry and share my grief with colleagues who also knew David.· Midge's total lack of emotion prevented him from sharing his own grief with her and he found that unbearable.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► be out of your mind with worry/grief etc
1[uncountable] extreme sadness, especially because someone you love has diedgrief over/at- Good grief! Look the mess in here!
- But out of sight at the other end of the course, Mr Hill had also come to grief.
- Far from remaining a hero, he came to grief.
- She'd come to grief acting like that, but not from him.
- The reductivist enterprise thus inevitably comes to grief, and it is not altogether surprising that it does.
- Then might not the rotting stump of the tree split under their weight and they come to grief?
- This is often far from the case and many a combination has come to grief at the very last fence.
- When it comes to that interesting pastime, most members of most species come to grief.
- Frank always gives me grief about my sloppy handwriting.
- Good grief! I forgot my keys again.
- A spasm of coughing woke him.
The grief she felt over Helen’s death was almost unbearable.with grief Charles was overcome with grief.2[countable] something that makes you feel extremely sad: Every change in our lives brings with it griefs.3good grief! spoken used when you are slightly surprised or annoyed: Good grief! What a mess!4come to grief to fail, or to be harmed or destroyed in an accident: candidates who come to grief in exams5give somebody grief informal to criticize someone in an annoying way6[uncountable] informal trouble or problems: You’ll save yourself a lot of grief if you check the measurements first.