MEANING
To cause someone distress or wrong them, especially through an injury or unfair treatment.
Use it for
Name distress rooted in a real or perceived wrong.Give a character’s hurt the sharper sense of having been wronged, not merely disappointed.
Words that belong together
- aggrieve a family
- feel aggrieved
- aggrieved party
On the page
The sudden seizure of their orchard aggrieved the family for generations.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- aggrieve
- Past tense
- aggrieved
- Past participle
- aggrieved
- Present participle
- aggrieving
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- aggrieve
- Present continuous
- am/is/are aggrieving
- Present perfect
- have/has aggrieved
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been aggrieving
- Past
- aggrieved
- Past continuous
- was/were aggrieving
- Past perfect
- had aggrieved
- Past perfect continuous
- had been aggrieving
- Future
- will aggrieve
- Future continuous
- will be aggrieving
- Future perfect
- will have aggrieved
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been aggrieving
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Formal and less common than “wrong” or “upset”; it often appears in legal or grievance contexts and can emphasize perceived injustice.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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