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DictionarygravamenCore of a complaint
noun

gravamen

grah-VAY-mun/ɡrɑvˈeɪmʌn/

The essential grievance or main point of a complaint.

The broken stair is the gravamen of the complaint, outweighing the unrelated documents.

A complainant points firmly to the single broken stair in a clear photograph while setting several irrelevant plain folders aside, emphasizing the central complaint; no written accusation.
Etymology
gravamenLatinburden; trouble; grievance

The Latin noun literally meant a burden and came to mean a grievance. In law, it identifies the part of an accusation that weighs most heavily against the accused.

In context

Rep. Jamie Raskin1:53
the essential heart of the case the gravamen of the case as they say in the law we know exactly what happened here
CNN - Raskin Discusses White House Stonewalling, Blocking Witness Testimony

More examples

  • The judge asks the attorney to identify the gravamen of the lawsuit.
  • Unequal treatment, not low wages, forms the gravamen of their complaint.
  • His response addresses minor details but ignores the gravamen of my complaint.

Forms

gravamen · gravamina · gravamens

Similar words

gist
The general substance of any communication, not specifically a complaint.
crux
The central issue in any problem, not necessarily a grievance.