grief
grief Lexical Profile
grief Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Deep, acute sorrow or mental distress, especially that caused by someone's death or a significant personal loss.
"The community came together to support the family in their time of grief."
Trouble, annoyance, or persistent criticism (used informally, especially in phrases such as 'give someone grief' or 'come to grief').
"His coworkers gave him plenty of grief for showing up late to the presentation."
A cause or occasion of keen regret, suffering, or affliction.
"His estrangement from his children remained the greatest grief of his later years."
• verb
To deliberately harass, irritate, or sabotage other players in an online multiplayer video game purely for one's own amusement.
"The moderators banned the user who had been griefing newcomers by destroying their virtual settlements."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse the noun 'grief' with the verb 'grieve'; 'grief' names the state of sorrow (except in informal gaming slang), while 'grieve' is the standard verb meaning to mourn.
• Rhymes for grief
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 13th century from Old French 'grief' (hardship, misfortune), from the adjective 'grief' (heavy, burdensome), which derives from Vulgar Latin '*grevis', an alteration of Classical Latin 'gravis' (heavy, grave).