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Distress vs Grieve - What's the difference?

distress | grieve |

As nouns the difference between distress and grieve

is that distress is (Cause of) discomfort while grieve is a governor of a town or province.

As verbs the difference between distress and grieve

is that distress is to cause strain or anxiety to someone while grieve is to cause sorrow or distress to.

distress

English

Noun

(-)
  • (Cause of) discomfort.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1833 , author=John Trusler , title=The Works of William Hogarth: In a Series of Engravings , chapter=8 citation , passage=To heighten his distress , he is approached by his wife, and bitterly upbraided for his perfidy in concealing from her his former connexions (with that unhappy girl who is here present with her child, the innocent offspring of her amours, fainting at the sight of his misfortunes, being unable to relieve him farther), and plunging her into those difficulties she never shall be able to surmount.}}
  • Serious danger.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1719 , author=Daniel Defoe , title=Robinson Crusoe , chapter=13 citation , passage=I immediately considered that this must be some ship in distress , and that they had some comrade, or some other ship in company, and fired these gun for signals of distress, and to obtain help.}}
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1759 , author=Voltaire , title=Candide , chapter=42 citation , passage=At length they perceived a little cottage; two persons in the decline of life dwelt in this desert, who were always ready to give every assistance in their power to their fellow-creatures in distress .}}
  • (legal) A seizing of property without legal process to force payment of a debt.
  • (legal) The thing taken by distraining; that which is seized to procure satisfaction.
  • * Spenser
    • If he were not paid, he would straight go and take a distress of goods and cattle.
  • * Blackstone
    • The distress thus taken must be proportioned to the thing distrained for.

    Related terms

    * distrain * district

    Verb

    (es)
  • To cause strain or anxiety to someone.
  • * {{quote-book
    • , year=1827 , author=Stendhal , title=Armance , chapter=31 citation , passage=She respects me, no doubt, but has no longer any passionate feeling for me, and my death will distress her without plunging her in despair.}}
  • (legal) To retain someone’s property against the payment of a debt; to distrain.
  • *
  • To treat an object, such as an antique, to give it an appearance of age.
    • She distressed the new media cabinet so that it fit with the other furniture in the room.

    External links

    * * *

    grieve

    English

    Etymology 1

    From the conjugated forms of (etyl) .

    Verb

    (griev)
  • To cause sorrow or distress to.
  • * Bible, Eph. iv. 30
    • Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.
  • * Cowper
    • The maidens grieved themselves at my concern.
  • To feel very sad about; to mourn; to sorrow for.
    • to grieve one's fate
  • To experience grief.
  • (archaic) To harm.
  • To submit or file a grievance.
  • * 2009 D'Amico, Rob , Editor, Texas Teacher , published by Texas AFT (affiliate of American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO); "Austin classified employees gain due process rights", April 2009, p14:
    • Even if the executive director rules against the employee on appeal, the employee can still grieve the termination to the superintendent followed by an appeal to the [...] Board of Trustees.
    Derived terms
    * grieved * griever * grievingly
    Related terms
    * grievance * grievous * grief

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A governor of a town or province.
  • (chiefly, Scotland) A manager or steward, e.g. of a farm.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • Their children were horsewhipped by the grieve .
    Derived terms
    * (l)

    Anagrams

    * English ergative verbs ----