"grievous" in the adjective sense

1. dangerous, grave, grievous, serious, severe, life-threatening

causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm

"a dangerous operation"

"a grave situation"

"a grave illness"

"grievous bodily harm"

"a serious wound"

"a serious turn of events"

"a severe case of pneumonia"

"a life-threatening disease"

2. grievous, heartbreaking, heartrending

causing or marked by grief or anguish

"a grievous loss"

"a grievous cry"

"her sigh was heartbreaking"

"the heartrending words of Rabin's granddaughter"

3. grave, grievous, heavy, weighty

of great gravity or crucial import requiring serious thought

"grave responsibilities"

"faced a grave decision in a time of crisis"

"a grievous fault"

"heavy matters of state"

"the weighty matters to be discussed at the peace conference"

4. atrocious, flagitious, grievous, monstrous

shockingly brutal or cruel

"murder is an atrocious crime"

"a grievous offense against morality"

"a grievous crime"

"no excess was too monstrous for them to commit"

Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)

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