Essential Word Roots: Good Grief!: Grav, Griev

Weigh in on this list of words derived from the Latin gravare, meaning "to make heavy" or "to cause grief."
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aggravate
    make worse
    Changes in sleep and dreaming might even aggravate mood disorders: depression is associated with a drop in dream recall. The Guardian (Apr 14, 2019)
  2. aggravated
    made more severe or intense especially in law
    Last year, a French tourist was charged with “aggravated damage to a building of historical and artistic interest” after carving “Sabrina 2017” into a piece of the Colosseum, The Telegraph reported. Fox News (Dec 12, 2018)
  3. aggravation
    an exasperated feeling of annoyance
    If you live far away from the airport, spare yourself the aggravation by making a practice of staying at an airport hotel the night before an early flight. Seattle Times (Jun 28, 2019)
  4. aggrieve
    cause to feel distress
    Its tone was that of a kindly heart aggrieved by injuries undeserved. The Two Towers
  5. grave
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    Almost he yielded to the desire for help and counsel, to tell this grave young man, whose words seemed so wise and fair, all that was in his mind. The Two Towers
    The word grave has multiple meanings with different etymological roots. The adjective derives from the Latin word gravare, from the Proto-Indo-European root gwere-, "heavy." The noun grave, meaning "a burial place," is from the Proto-Indo-European root ghrebh-, "to dig or to scratch."
  6. gravitas
    formality, dignity, or seriousness
    They didn’t want portraits to lose their formality and gravitas by looking too much like real life. Washington Post (Feb 27, 2019)
  7. gravitate
    be attracted to
    “They raised a great son, and it showed with how people gravitated toward him. He always found the good side of everything, the good side of people.” Los Angeles Times (Jul 1, 2019)
  8. gravity
    the force of attraction between all masses in the universe
    “Inside giant clouds of gas and dust in space, the force of gravity pulls material together into dense clumps. Sometimes these clumps reach a critical density that allows stars to form at their cores.” Fox News (Mar 28, 2019)
  9. grief
    intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one
    It took me almost two years to understand that the hurt was not just heartbreak, but that what I was feeling was grief and loss. The Guardian (Apr 24, 2019)
  10. grievance
    a complaint about a wrong that causes resentment
    Shortly before the election, a meeting of all students was held to discuss problems and voice our grievances. Long Walk to Freedom
  11. grieve
    feel intense sorrow, especially due to a loss
    She pointed longingly in the direction of the building, still grieving the loss of her old address. Los Angeles Times (May 9, 2019)
  12. grievous
    causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm
    Inmates suffered grievous health issues—paralysis, edema, digestive agony, hallucinations—that were compounded by other deprivations. The New Yorker (Dec 19, 2018)
Created on Mon May 13 16:36:20 EDT 2019 (updated Fri Jul 12 08:50:27 EDT 2019)

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