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Grievous vs Egregious - What's the difference?

grievous | egregious |

As adjectives the difference between grievous and egregious

is that grievous is causing grief, pain or sorrow while egregious is exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion.

grievous

English

Alternative forms

* greuous (obsolete) * grievious (less common outside dialects)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Causing grief, pain or sorrow.
  • * 1883 ,
  • As for the captain, his wounds were grievous indeed but not dangerous.
  • Serious, grave, dire or dangerous.
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    egregious

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion.
  • The student has made egregious errors on the examination.
  • * 16thC , ,
  • I cannot cross my arms, or sigh "Ah me," / "Ah me forlorn!" egregious foppery! / I cannot buss thy fill, play with thy hair, / Swearing by Jove, "Thou art most debonnaire!"
  • * c1605 , , Act 2, Scene 3,
  • My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.
  • * 22 March 2012 , Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games [http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hunger-games,71293/]
  • When the goal is simply to be as faithful as possible to the material—as if a movie were a marriage, and a rights contract the vow—the best result is a skillful abridgment, one that hits all the important marks without losing anything egregious .
  • * '>citation
  • Outrageously bad; shocking.
  • Usage notes

    The negative meaning arose in the late 16th century, probably originating in sarcasm. Before that, it meant outstanding in a good way. Webster also gives “distinguished” as an archaic form, and notes that its present form often has an unpleasant connotation (e.g., "an egregious error" ). It generally precedes such epithets as “rogue,” “rascal,” "ass," “blunderer”.