Grief
/ɡriːf/
nounB2
Definition
Grief is the deep sadness and pain people feel when they lose someone or something very important to them. It often happens after death, but can also come from other big losses like the end of a relationship or losing a job. It is a natural emotional reaction that can last for a long time.
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See It in Action
Deep sadness caused by the death of a loved one
- •She felt great grief after her grandmother passed away.
- •The family shared their grief at the funeral.
- •His grief was clear in the way he spoke about his lost friend.
Strong sadness from other serious losses or endings
- •He experienced grief when he lost his job unexpectedly.
- •The end of their long friendship caused her much grief.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "grief" like "sadness," but much stronger and deeper—like sadness that fills your whole heart
- ✓Picture a heavy cloud covering the sky inside your chest, making everything feel dark and hard to breathe
- ✓It's the feeling when you hear very bad news about someone you love and your heart feels broken
- ✓Sounds like "reef" → imagine a sharp, rocky reef that can hurt you if you crash into it, just like grief can hurt your feelings deeply
- ✓Think of famous stories or movies where characters cry and feel lost after losing someone, like in "The Lion King" when Simba feels grief after his father dies
- ✓NOT like "sad" (short and light feeling), grief is long and very heavy inside
- ✓NOT like "disappointment" (feeling unhappy about something small), grief is about big, serious loss
- ✓NOT like "anger" (strong feeling too, but about being mad), grief is about feeling deep sadness and missing someone
- ✓NOT like "mourning" (the act of showing grief, like wearing black or going to a funeral), grief is the feeling itself inside
Try Other Words
- •Sorrow: deep sadness, often used in formal or serious situations (Use when you want a more serious or poetic word)
- •Mourning: showing grief, often after death (Use when talking about the actions people take to show grief, like funerals)
- •Heartache: emotional pain from loss or disappointment (Use when focusing on the emotional hurt, often in personal relationships)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: no prefix or suffix; a simple root word "grief"
- •Etymology: from Old French "grief" meaning "heavy, serious" and Latin "gravem" meaning "heavy"
- •Historical development: originally meant "heavy" or "serious" trouble or pain, later focused on emotional pain
- •Modern usage: used mainly to describe deep emotional sadness after loss, especially death
Reflect & Connect
•How do different cultures show or express grief, and why might these ways be important?
•Can grief ever be helpful or positive in some way, such as helping people remember or honor what they lost?
Fill in the blanks
1.After losing her pet, she felt grief because ___ was very important to her.
2.Grief often comes after a loss that causes ___ feelings inside a person.
3.Unlike simple sadness, grief usually lasts for a ___ time and feels very heavy.
4.People show grief in different ways, such as crying or ___ at funerals.
5.When someone experiences grief, they might need ___ from friends and family.
6.Grief is different from anger because it is about ___ sadness, not being mad.
7.He felt grief not only for the death but also for the ___ of their friendship.