different between doleful vs grievous

English

Etymology

From Middle English doleful, doolful, deolful, equivalent to dole +? -ful.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?do?lf?l/

Adjective

doleful (comparative more doleful or dolefuller or dolefuler, superlative most doleful or dolefullest or dolefulest)

1. Filled with grief, mournful, bringing feelings of sadness.

Usage notes

The comparative/superlative pair "more doleful / most doleful" is significantly more common than "dolefuller / dolefullest", which is further more common than "dolefuler / dolefulest".

Derived terms

• dolefully
• dolefulness

Translations

References

English

Alternative forms

• greuous (obsolete)
• grievious, grevious (less common / nonstandard outside dialects)

Etymology

From grieve, from Middle English greven, from Old French grever, from Latin grav? (“I burden”). Developed in the 13th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??i?.v?s/
• Rhymes: -i?v?s
• (nonstandard outside dialects) IPA^(key): /??i?.vi?.?s/ (often used in conjunction with the spelling grievious)

Adjective

grievous (comparative more grievous, superlative most grievous)

1. Causing grief, pain or sorrow.
   • 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

     As for the captain, his wounds were grievous indeed but not dangerous.

2. Serious, grave, dire or dangerous.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:lamentable

Translations

Anagrams

• grevious