grieving

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grieve

(grēv)

v. grieved, griev·ing, grieves

v.tr.

1. To cause to be sorrowful; distress: It grieves me to see you in such pain.

2. To mourn or sorrow for: We grieved the death of our pastor.

3. Usage Problem To file an official or formal grievance on account of (an actual or perceived injustice).

4. Archaic To hurt or harm.

v.intr.

To experience or express grief.

[Middle English greven, from Old French grever, to harm, from Latin gravāre, to burden, from gravis, heavy; see g^werə- in Indo-European roots.]

griev′er n.

Synonyms: grieve, lament, mourn, sorrow
These verbs mean to feel, show, or express grief, sadness, or regret: grieved over her father's death; lamenting about the decline in academic standards; mourns for lost hopes; sorrowed for a lost friend.

Antonym: rejoice

Usage Note: Traditionally, grieve as a transitive verb has meant "to cause to be sorrowful; distress," with its direct object being the person who is sorrowful or distressed, as in It grieves me to see so many homeless in the city. Later, there developed a sense of grieve in which the direct object is that which causes sorrow or distress, as in She took a week off to attend her father's funeral and grieve his loss. In our 2013 survey, 79 percent of the Usage Panel approved of this usage in this sentence, up from 62 percent in our 1996 survey. More recently, grieve has also come to be used to mean "to file an official or formal grievance." This extended sense does not find favor with the Usage Panel. In 2013, only 21 percent found its use in this passage acceptable: Saradnik was asked to resign as coach following complaints by several parents. Because Saradnik has grieved his dismissal, school officials aren't commenting. This usage is relatively uncommon outside of the sphere of labor and management disputes.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Grieving

(See also DEJECTION.)

come home by Weeping Cross To suffer disappointment or failure; to mourn, to lament; to be penitent and remorseful. The origin of this now rarely heard expression is obscure. There are several place names of this designation in England, but the common explanation that they were the site of penitential devotions is without substance. Use of the expression may have given rise to the explanation, rather than vice versa; for example, the following passage from Lyly’s Euphues (1580):

The time will come when coming home by weeping cross, thou shalt confess.

in sackcloth and ashes In a state of remorse and penitence; contrite, repentant; in mourning, sorrowful. This expression alludes to the ancient Hebrew custom of wearing sackcloth, a coarse fabric of camel’s or goat’s hair, and ashes (usually sprinkled on the head) to humble one-self as a sign of sorrow or penitence. Among the Biblical references to this custom is that in the Book of Daniel (9:3):

Then I turned my face to the Lord, God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

The expression has been used metaphorically for centuries.

He knew that for all that had befallen she was mourning in mental sackcloth and ashes. (Hugh Conway, A Family Affair, 1805)

A common variation is wearing sackcloth and ashes.

wear the willow To mourn the death of a mate; to suffer from unrequited love. The willow, especially the weeping willow, has long been a symbol of sorrow or grief. Psalm 137:1-2 is said to explain why the branches of the willow tree droop:

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

Wear the willow appeared in print by the 16th century but is rarely, if ever, heard today.

There’s … Marie … wearing the willow because … Engemann is away courting Madam Carouge. (Katharine S. Macquoid, At the Red Glove, 1885)

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.

grieving - sorrowful through loss or deprivation; "bereft of hope"

bereaved, grief-stricken, mourning, sorrowing, bereft

sorrowful - experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss; "sorrowful widows"; "a sorrowful tale of death and despair"; "sorrowful news"; "even in laughter the heart is sorrowful"- Proverbs 14:13

Translations

Trauer

grieving

[ˈgriːvɪŋ] ADJ [family, relatives] → afligido
the grieving process → el duelo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

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References in classic literature ?

The boys dressed themselves, hid their accoutre- ments, and went off grieving that there were no out- laws any more, and wondering what modern civiliza- tion could claim to have done to compensate for their loss.

View in context

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However, Cllr Jayne Innes has said it would intrude on people's grieving. She said: "I completely get that we put something on the grave which is important.

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Synopsis: The collaborative work of the editorial staff of Skylight Paths Publishing, "Grieving with Your Whole Heart: Spiritual Wisdom and Practice for Finding Comfort, Hope and Healing After Loss" is a soulful companion for grief that offers profound wisdom and creative spiritual practices for expressing and experiencing sorrow while keeping a life-giving connection to the past.