aggrieve
/əˈɡɹiːv/
"aggrieve" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“aggrieve” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause someone to feel pain or sorrow to; to afflict
Corpus desk
Index EN-aggrieve · aggrieve · English
aggrieve · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | aggrieve |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əˈɡɹiːv/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “aggrieve” in English
Rare enough to double-check
aggrieve is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /əˈɡɹiːv/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for aggrieve, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English agreven, from Old French agrever; a (Latin ad) + grever (“to burden, injure”), from Latin gravare (“to weigh down”), from gravis (“heavy”). See grieve, and compare with aggravate. The correct English form is aggrieve, spelled A-G-G-R-I-E-V-E.
Definition
- 1To cause someone to feel pain or sorrow to; to afflict
- 2To grieve; to lament.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how aggrieve appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Right is positive; wrong is negative—is merely the negation of right; as cold is the negation of heat—darkness of light. That a thing may be wrong, it is necessary that there be some other thing in relation to which it is wrong—some condition which it fails to satisfy; some law which it violates; some being whom it aggrieves.
Etymology
From Middle English agreven, from Old French agrever; a (Latin ad) + grever (“to burden, injure”), from Latin gravare (“to weigh down”), from gravis (“heavy”). See grieve, and compare with aggravate.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.