Synonyms of grievous
55 similar words
Another word for grievous is tragic. Other synonyms of grievous are sad, depressing, upsetting, grave and deplorable.
Synonyms and similar words for grievous
adjectiveCausing grief, pain, or sorrow.
- saddeningCausing feelings of sadness.
- sorrowfulExhibiting sorrow; dejected; distraught; sad. (of a person).
- atrabiliary
- atrabilious
- deplorableTo be felt sorrow for; worthy of compassion; lamentable.
- depressingCausing depression or sadness.
- distressingCausing distress; upsetting; distressful.
- heartbreakingThat causes great grief, anguish or distress.
- heartrending
- lamentableCausing sorrow, distress or regret; deplorable, pitiful or distressing.
- mournfulFit to inspire mourning; tragic.
- regrettableAble to be regretted, especially deserving of regret.
- ruefulCausing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way.
- sadCausing sorrow; lamentable.
- tragicCausing great sadness or suffering.
- unhappy
- upsettingCausing upset; distressing, unsettling, hurtful.
- woebegone
- woefulLamentable, deplorable.
- miserable obsoleteCausing unhappiness or misery.
- lachrymable archaicLamentable.
adjectiveSerious, grave, dire, or dangerous.
- perilousDangerous, full of peril.
- sombreGrave; extremely serious.
- dangerous
- dangersomeCharacterised or marked by danger; dangerous.
- hazardous
- hot informal
- jeopardousMarked by jeopardy; dangerous or perilous.
- wicked
- forbiddingAppearing to be threatening, unfriendly or potentially unpleasant.
- parlous
- periculousDangerous, hazardous, perilous.
- precarious
- risky
- unsafeNot safe (various senses); dangerous.
- austere
- frightful
- demureModest, quiet, reserved, or serious.
- serious
- graveCharacterised by a dignified sense of seriousness.
- earnestPossessing or characterised by seriousness.
- lack-laughterCheerless; sombre; serious.
- thoughtful
- saturnine
- sedateOf a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected...
- solemnDeeply serious and sombre; grave.
- solemncholy humorousSolemn; serious.
- soberSubdued; solemn; grave.
- somber
- staidNot capricious or impulsive; sedate, serious, sober.
- stern
- sweer UK, dialectal
- weightsomeOf, pertaining to, possessing, or characterised by weight; weighty; weightful; heavy; grave; grievous.
- weighty figurativelyImportant; serious; not trivial or petty.
- sage obsolete
Meaning of grievous
- adjective Causing grief, pain, or sorrow.
- adjective Serious, grave, dire, or dangerous.
grievous in other languages
Questions about synonyms of grievous
- What is another word for grievous?
- Grievous has 55 synonyms on Word.ws, such as tragic, sad, depressing, upsetting, grave, deplorable, distressing and regrettable.
- What does grievous mean?
- Grievous means causing grief, pain, or sorrow.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: grievous (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of grievous.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/grievous. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.