rhizoverbBeta
DictionarygrievanceComplaint about unfairness
noun

grievance

GREE-vuns/ˈɡriːvəns/

A complaint about perceived unfair treatment.

The wheelchair user voices a grievance about the car blocking the access ramp.

A wheelchair user raises a complaint directly to a driver whose parked car blocks the access ramp, pointing out the obstruction with an indignant expression.
Etymology
grievLatinmake heavy; burden
+anceOld Frenchstate or condition

“Making heavy” became burdening or harming someone. A grievance shifted from the suffering itself to the wrong that caused it, and hence the subject of a complaint.

In context

Libranima73:51
the greatest wrong and grievance that ever injustice conceived and cruelty perpetrated
Don Quixote - Cervantes (Illustrated Audiobook) Part 1 of 4

More examples

  • Her main grievance is that others get all the credit.
  • The union helps workers resolve grievances with management.
  • At dinner, he repeats an old grievance about his inheritance.

Forms

grievance · grievances

Similar words

complaint
A broader term for expressing dissatisfaction, not necessarily unfairness.
objection
Expresses opposition to something, without necessarily claiming unfair treatment.