grievance

/ˈɡɹiː.vəns/

//ˈɡɹiː.vəns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"grievance" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“grievance” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #23,849. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,849
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Something which causes grief.

Corpus desk

Index EN-grievance · grievance · English

grievance · rank #23,849 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #23,849
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH grunt

Nearest frequency peer: grunt (+1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “grievance”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “grievance” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

grievance vs grievances
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for grievance
PropertyValue
Headwordgrievance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡɹiː.vəns/
Letters9
Frequency rank#23,849
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “grievance”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).grievancelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “grunt” (#23,850), “governs” (#23,847), “GSM” (#23,851). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “grievance” is #23,849. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around grievance (IPA /ˈɡɹiː.vəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,849 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for grievance, with forms such as "ggrievance", "girevance", and "greivance". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "grievances", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French grievance, from the verb grever (“to irritate; to bother; to annoy”) + -ance, equivalent to grieve + -ance. The correct English form is grievance, spelled G-R-I-E-V-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Something which causes grief.
  2. 2
    A wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint.
  3. 3
    Feelings of being wronged; outrage; resentment, bitterness or anger.
  4. 4
    A complaint or annoyance.
  5. 5
    A formal complaint, especially in the context of a unionized workplace.
  6. 6
    Violation of regulations or objectionable behavior.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how grievance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [T]he King is vveary / Of daintie and ſuch picking greeuances, / For he hath found, to end one doubt by death, / Reuiues tvvo greater in the heires of life: […]
  2. November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk Wayne Rooney spent much of the game remonstrating with Oliver about his own grievances and, in the interest of balance, there were certainly occasions when United had legitimate complaints.

Etymology

From Old French grievance, from the verb grever (“to irritate; to bother; to annoy”) + -ance, equivalent to grieve + -ance.

Synonyms

gravamen

This word in other languages

transgresión(Español)grief(Français)Ärgernis(Deutsch)queixa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggrievance
  • girevance
  • greivance
  • grieavnce
  • grievacne
  • grievancce
  • grievanec
  • grievannce
  • grievence
  • grievnace
  • grievvance
  • griveance
  • grrievance
  • rgievance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grievance - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ggrievance1girevance2greivance2grieavnce2grievacne2grievancce1grievanec2grievannce1
Edit distance from "grievance"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "grievance"?
"grievance" is spelled G-R-I-E-V-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɹiː.vəns/.
What does "grievance" mean?
As a noun, "grievance" means: Something which causes grief.
What words are commonly confused with "grievance"?
"grievance" is commonly confused with "grievances". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "grievance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grievance" is /ˈɡɹiː.vəns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "grievance"?
From Old French grievance, from the verb grever (“to irritate; to bother; to annoy”) + -ance, equivalent to grieve + -ance. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "grievance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fortitude#23,836formality#23,835impedance#23,867exchequer#23,829

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

harmonious14 variantsinterplay14 variantsIsraelites14 variantscontrived14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list