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grievance

noun

Simple meaning

A complaint about a wrong that causes resentment and is grounds for action.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

greevuhns

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡɹivəns

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A complaint about a (real or imaginary) wrong that causes resentment and is grounds for action

  2. countable

    A wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint.

  3. countable

    A complaint or annoyance.

  4. uncountable

    Feelings of being wronged; outrage; resentment, bitterness or anger.

  5. countablehuman resources

    A formal complaint, especially in the context of a unionized workplace.

  6. countable

    Something which causes grief.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A complaint about a (real or imaginary) wrong that causes resentment and is grounds for action

Used this way, grievance is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It turns up most in personal or emotional discussion and literature or storytelling contexts.

Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Strong
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Everyday but emotionally strong

Where it naturally appears

  • Personal/emotional discussion
  • Literature/storytelling

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use grievance

  • “The worker filed a grievance about unfair treatment from his boss.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

grievance proceduregrievance committeereal grievancepersonal grievancegreat grievancegrievance arbitrationgrievance processgrievance machinery

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.