Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

grievously

/ɡɹˈivəsli/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.34 in modern English

Syllables: griev-ous-ly
IPA: /ɡɹˈivəsli/

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

In a grievous manner, severely.

Example Sentences

"[T]he king ſent to the ſea ſixe good ſhippes, well manned and vitayled for the warre: […] for ſaffegarde of the Merchauntes, and other the kinges ſubiectes, that were greuouſly ſpoyled and robbed on the ſea, by Frenchmen, Scottes and other rouers."
"Thoſe Chriſtian Captiues, which you keepe as ſlaues, […] when they chance to reſt or breath a ſpace, Are puniſht with Baſtones so grieuouſly, That they lie panting on the Gallies ſide."
"That's why this failure of the super committee represents a reckless, irresponsible gamble by our "leaders" in Washington. It's difficult to remember a Congress that has put the nation so much at risk in the service of ideology and to hold onto office. Partisans on both sides are grievously failing the country."

Etymology

From Middle English grevously; equivalent to grievous + -ly.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: grevously

Inflected Forms

more grievously (comparative) most grievously (superlative)

Questions

How do you pronounce grievously?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɡɹˈivəsli/.
What does grievously mean?: In a grievous manner, severely.
Where does grievously come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce grievously

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “grievously”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɡɹˈivəsli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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