adjective

grievous

GREE-vus/ˈɡriːvəs/

Extremely serious or painful.

The crash leaves several passengers with grievous injuries.

A severely injured older man lies on an emergency stretcher, with a splinted leg, bandaged head and immobilized arm, while a paramedic attends him.

Etymology

grievousOld Frenchheavy; hard, difficult

Old French grevos linked heaviness with difficulty and toil. Its underlying association with burdening and afflicting helps explain why grievous describes pain, suffering, or harm of great severity.

In context

Highland Radio Ireland136:37

people making grievous mistakes not dancing not starting on time dancing in the wrong direction and still managing to place or get a very high score

It’s Thursday's Nine til’ Noon Show with Greg Hughes – How has your week been going?

More examples

Ignoring these warnings would be a grievous mistake.
The family mourns a grievous loss.
The polluted water causes grievous harm to nearby communities.

Forms

grievous

grievously adverb — In a seriously harmful or painful way.

Similar words

severe: Emphasizes intensity or harshness rather than suffering or wrongdoing.
grave: Emphasizes seriousness and danger, not necessarily pain or suffering.
painful: Emphasizes suffering but does not necessarily imply extreme seriousness.