How to pronounce “grievous”
Say “grievous” in 2 beats
grievous
/ˈɡɹivəs/
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈɡɹiːvəs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- grievɡɹistress
- ousvəs
- IPA (American)
- /ˈɡɹivəs/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈɡɹiːvəs/
- Respelling
- GREE-vuhs
- Syllables
- 2 — GRIEV-ous
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: GRIEV-ous. “griev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
/ˈɡɹivəs/
/ˈɡɹiːvəs/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “grievous” goes wrong
- Often heard
“GREE-vee-us”
two syllables: there is no i after the v
What “grievous” means
- adjective
causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm
“a dangerous operation”
- adjective
causing or marked by grief or anguish
“a grievous loss”
- adjective
of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought
“grave responsibilities”
Say it in a sentence
“The report described a grievous error in the original design.”“grievous”, answered
How do you pronounce “grievous”?
“grievous” is pronounced /ˈɡɹivəs/ (GREE-vuhs) in American English and /ˈɡɹiːvəs/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “griev”. Build it as GRIEV-ous, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “grievous” have?
2: griev · ous. The beat lands on the first, “griev”. Read letter by letter it looks like 3 (GREE-vee-us), and that careful version is not wrong — but ordinary speech runs it to 2.
Is “grievous” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈɡɹivəs/ (GREE-vuhs); British English says /ˈɡɹiːvəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “grievous” mean?
As an adjective: causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm For example: “a dangerous operation” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “grievous”?
Stress the first syllable: GRIEV-ous. “griev” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Now say “grievous” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.