grief-stricken

IPA/ˈɡriːf strɪkən/
IPA/ˈɡriːf strɪkən/

grief-stricken — adjective

1. feeling such painful sadness that you can barely function, usually after someone

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

feeling such painful sadness that you can barely function, usually after someone close to you has died or after another devastating loss.

Example

Adaeze was grief-stricken when her grandmother passed away last spring.

predicative: be grief-stricken when + clause about a death

The grief-stricken parents asked reporters to leave the hospital waiting room.

attributive: grief-stricken + noun (people affected by loss)

Common collocations
  • grief-stricken family
  • grief-stricken widow
  • grief-stricken parents
  • grief-stricken at the news
  • grief-stricken over the loss
  • look grief-stricken
  • appear grief-stricken
Synonyms
  • heartbroken

    broader — covers romantic loss and disappointment, not only bereavement

  • bereaved

    neutral / formal — names the state of having lost someone, without naming the emotion

  • inconsolable

    focuses on the impossibility of comfort, regardless of cause

  • devastated

    more general — any crushing shock, not specifically grief from death

Antonyms
  • elated

    the emotional opposite: intensely happy

  • unaffected

    describes someone who feels no emotional impact from the event

Grammar Patterns

be grief-stricken

grief-stricken + noun

grief-stricken at/by/over + noun

Usage Note

Almost always used about loss caused by death or a comparable disaster; do not use for everyday disappointment. Frequently followed by a phrase naming the loss with 'at', 'by', or 'over'.

Common Mistakes

Selim was grief-stricken when his team lost the match.
Selim was disappointed when his team lost the match.
grief-stricken is reserved for deep loss, usually a death, not minor setbacks.
a grief-stricken news
sad news' or 'the grief-stricken family received the news
grief-stricken describes people who feel grief, not the event or information itself.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five describe deep emotional pain, but each frames it differently. 'Grief-stricken' is the most specific: it names overwhelming sorrow caused by serious loss, almost always a death, and is formal enough to suit news reports and obituaries. 'Heartbroken' is everyday and elastic — you can be heartbroken over a death, a break-up, or a missed opportunity. 'Bereaved' is a clinical, formal term that simply identifies someone who has lost a relative; it states the fact, not the emotion. 'Inconsolable' shifts the focus to the impossibility of comfort — useful when someone keeps crying despite help. 'Devastated' is the broadest: any crushing event, from a death to losing a job. Compare: a grief-stricken widow weeps at the funeral; a heartbroken teenager mopes after a break-up; a bereaved spouse files the paperwork; an inconsolable child refuses dinner; a devastated coach faces the press after the loss.

grief-stricken ↗heartbroken ↗bereaved ↗inconsolable ↗devastated ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • grief-stricken family
  • grief-stricken widow
  • grief-stricken parents
  • grief-stricken relatives
  • grief-stricken survivors

Adverbs

  • utterly grief-stricken
  • absolutely grief-stricken
  • visibly grief-stricken

Phrases

  • look grief-stricken
  • appear grief-stricken
  • the grief-stricken family

Prepositions

  • grief-stricken at
  • grief-stricken by
  • grief-stricken over

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchOld EnglishEnglish

A compound built from two Old English roots: 'grief' (which entered English from Old French 'grief', meaning a heavy burden or hardship, ultimately from Latin 'gravis' = heavy) plus 'stricken', the older past participle of 'strike'. Used together since the early 19th century, the compound paints sorrow as a sudden blow that knocks the sufferer down — the same image behind 'horror-stricken' and 'panic-stricken'.