GRIEVING Synonyms: 181 Similar and Opposite Words

grieving 1 of 3

adjective

as in weeping

expressing or suggesting mourning the grieving sobs of the widow could be heard throughout the funeral service

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

grieving

2 of 3

noun

as in mourning

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

grieving

3 of 3

verb

present participle of grieve

as in aching

to feel deep sadness or mental pain we all grieved over the lost cat

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of grieving

Noun

Or that most people know him only as a grieving spouse, and he was elected out of sympathy? — Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026 This horrendous act leads a grieving but determined Ruthye to Kara Zor-El, dead set on exacting revenge for the killings and using our Supergirl to help get her to the culprit. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 24 June 2026 Sallie West has since opened her front door to the grieving. — Karen Valby, Vanity Fair, 16 June 2026 Traumatized into silence, the de facto orphan stays living with the kindly but guilt-ridden, grieving and impecunious Hiroshi. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 12 June 2026 The grieving in the sense of mourning and crying and all that might stop, but the pain is going to be there. — Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026 Is this part of a process of grieving or one of denial? — Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026 The search for answers is one step in a long grieving process. — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026 Hughes remembered as a spiritual leader While there have been public honors for Hughes – his smiling yearbook photo was displayed on the scoreboard overlooking the football field – much of the grieving in this community of about 200,000 people is playing out in private. — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 14 Mar. 2026

Verb

As investigators search for answers, a restaurant is stepping in to help grieving families and those with loved ones in the hospital. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026 Panicked, grieving parents were trying to help when crews arrived, Faizi said. — Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026 Vereb is accused of taking grieving families' money to perform cremations for their deceased pets, but instead throwing the pets' bodies into landfills, and returning unknown ashes to the owners. — Tory Wegerski, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 Mardookhi follows three grieving Iranian-Canadian families who seeking answers and accountability from the Islamic Republic of Iran years after tragedy. — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026 Grace is, at best, her frenemy; Roylin is dead; and Thema Asseidu-Dennison is grieving. — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026 When the world mourned the death of a beloved monarch in 2023, Prince Edward was grieving the loss of his beloved cousin. — Stephanie Bridger-Linning, Vanity Fair, 10 Oct. 2026 Still grieving, Viard struggled to occupy the void left by Lagerfeld, whose larger-than-life personality loomed over the Paris fashion landscape and whose workload at Chanel spanned no fewer than 10 collections a year. — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026 Neela Jolene stars as a young sound engineer grieving her recording-artist father while pursuing a legendary stage of her own. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for grieving

Adjective

And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.

— David Mamet, National Review, 11 Aug. 2022
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.

— Helen Shaw, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2021

Definition of weeping

Noun

While Boeing callously deflects blame for their negligence, a family of one victim finds strength in gathering collective mourning.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared three days of mourning and directed flags to be flown at half-staff throughout the country to mourn the victims.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of mourning

Noun

Pelvic pain and trouble peeing are disruptive, but UTIs are dangerous if left untreated — delays in care are all too common and make prolonged suffering and dangerous complications more likely.

— Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Oct. 2026
Schleinzer made a deliberate choice not to depict the assaults themselves, arguing that images carry a responsibility, particularly in a culture saturated with graphic representations of suffering.

— Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of suffering

Verb

By the 11th game of the third set, Keys was hitting herself in the head with her racket, taking her cap off and sighing deep breaths that were either meant to steady her or out of exasperation.

— Ava Wallace, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
The soundtrack—by the frequent Hans Zimmer collaborator David Fleming—is a delight, a polyphonic mood board of ghost-clangs, spooky bassoons, lyrical electro-motifs, and sighing sea themes.

— James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026

Definition of sighing

Adjective

While mourning her father, the heartbroken Sara uses a piece of chalk to draw a circle on the floor of the attic resembling the one Rama creates to protect Sita.

— Sohini Sarah Pillai, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire honored Macy at a county Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, telling community leaders that her death had left his office and the wider community heartbroken.

— Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of heartbroken

Noun

One of us would be chosen to recite the poem onstage—a kitsch performance, no doubt, so that an auditorium of adults would be moved to tears.

— Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026
The first days of testimony brought tears from witnesses, spectators and jurors, the 9th Street Journal reported.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of tears

Cite this Entry

Style

“Grieving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grieving. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of grieving

adjective

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes