grief

/ˈgrēf/

Middle English gref, grefe, greef, grief "hardship, distress, hurt, anger, sorrow," borrowed from Anglo-French gref "burden, molestation, wrong, hurt, hardship, calamity" (continental Old French grief), noun derivative of gref "heavy, burdensome, harsh, grievous," going back to Vulgar Latin *grevis, alteration (by association with its antonym levis "light in weight") of Latin gravis "heavy, oppressive, serious"

noun

  1. deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement

  2. a cause of such suffering

  3. trouble, annoyance

his grief over his son's death

life's joys and griefs

sorrow grief anguish woe regret mean distress of mind. sorrow implies a sense of loss or a sense of guilt and remorse. grief implies poignant sorrow for an immediate cause.

adjective

  1. very sad : deeply affected by grief

The death of his son has left him grief-stricken.

idiom

  1. —used to express surprise or annoyance