grieve

/ɡɹiːv/

//ɡɹiːv// verb

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

"grieve" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“grieve” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,839. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,839
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause sorrow or distress to.

Corpus desk

Index EN-grieve · grieve · English

grieve · rank #18,839 · 8 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,839
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Gras

Nearest frequency peer: Gras (-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 “grieve”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “grieve” 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).

grieve vs grove
67% similar
grieve vs grime
67% similar
grieve vs gripe
67% similar

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

Key facts for grieve
PropertyValue
Headwordgrieve
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɡɹiːv/
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,839
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “grieve”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).grievelands 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 “Gras” (#18,838), “Grimes” (#18,840), “glover” (#18,837). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “grieve” is #18,839. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around grieve (IPA /ɡɹiːv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #18,839 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for grieve, with forms such as "ggrieve", "gireve", and "greive". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "grove", "grime", "gripe", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English greven, from Old French grever (“to burden”), from Latin gravō, gravāre, from adjective gravis (“grave”). For the meaning development compare Russian тяготи́ть (tjagotítʹ, “to be a burden (on), to oppress”), Russian тужи́ть (tužítʹ, “to … The correct English form is grieve, spelled G-R-I-E-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause sorrow or distress to.
  2. 2
    To feel very sad about; to mourn; to sorrow for.
  3. 3
    To experience grief.
  4. 4
    To harm.
  5. 5
    To submit or file a grievance (about).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Thy maidens griev'd themselves at my concern.
  2. to grieve one's fate

Etymology

From Middle English greven, from Old French grever (“to burden”), from Latin gravō, gravāre, from adjective gravis (“grave”). For the meaning development compare Russian тяготи́ть (tjagotítʹ, “to be a burden (on), to oppress”), Russian тужи́ть (tužítʹ, “to experience grief”), related to тяжёлый (tjažólyj, “heavy, grave”), тя́жкий (tjážkij).

This word in other languages

contristar(Español)attrister(Français)trauern(Deutsch)afligir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggrieve
  • gireve
  • greive
  • grieev
  • grievve
  • grivee
  • grrieve
  • rgieve

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of grieve - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ggrieve1gireve2greive2grieev2grievve1grivee2grrieve1rgieve2
Edit distance from "grieve"

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 "grieve"?
"grieve" is spelled G-R-I-E-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɹiːv/.
What does "grieve" mean?
As a verb, "grieve" means: To cause sorrow or distress to.
What words are commonly confused with "grieve"?
"grieve" is commonly confused with "grove", "grime", "gripe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "grieve"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grieve" is /ɡɹiːv/. 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 "grieve"?
From Middle English greven, from Old French grever (“to burden”), from Latin gravō, gravāre, from adjective gravis (“grave”). For the meaning development compare Russian тяготи́ть (tjagotítʹ, “to be a burden (on), to oppress”), Russian тужи́ть (tu... 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 "grieve", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Grimes#18,840glover#18,837grudge#18,842Gideon#18,835

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

flung8 variantsfling8 variantsinvoke8 variantsjoyous8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list