aggrieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to oppress or wrong grievously; injure by injustice.
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to afflict with pain, anxiety, etc.
verb
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(often impersonal or passive) to grieve; distress; afflict
it aggrieved her much that she could not go
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to injure unjustly, esp by infringing a person's legal rights
Other Word Forms
- aggrievement noun
Etymology
Origin of aggrieve
1250–1300; Middle English agreven < Middle French agrever < Latin aggravāre to make heavy, worsen, equivalent to ag- ag- + grav- ( grave 2 ) + -āre infinitive suffix; aggravate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They are notorious goons, despised virtually everywhere for their ability to agitate, aggrieve and annoy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026
The government says the main legislation relevant to spiking is Section 24 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which includes maliciously administering poison with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy that person.
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2024
In his opinion, Watson wrote “because the model policies are directed only to school boards, they cannot affect or aggrieve anyone other than the school boards.”
From Seattle Times • Jul. 29, 2021
The morals still aggrieve him and, even with Terry no longer around, that makes it a calculated gamble on Hodgson's part.
From The Guardian • Mar. 14, 2013
And I marvelled if it should aggrieve you less, if you knew one thing—yet that might give you pain.”
From In Convent Walls The Story of the Despensers by Irwin, M. (Madelaine)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
