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grave

/ɡɹeɪv/noun, verb, adjective1 syllable

Grave means: causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm.

Synonyms for grave33

noun, as in a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)

tomb

noun, as in a mark (‘) placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation

grave accent

verb, as in carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface

scratch, engrave, inscribe, etch

verb, as in shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it

sculpt, sculpture

adjective, as in causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm

dangerous, grievous, serious, severe, life-threatening, critical

adjective, as in of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought

grievous, heavy, weighty, important, of import

adjective, as in dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises

sedate, sober, solemn, serious

also used for grave

austere, sombre, frightful, demure, earnest, momentous, capital, big, central, consequential, crucial, epochful

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does grave mean?8

adjective

1

causing fear or anxiety by threatening great harm“a dangerous operation”

2

of great gravity or crucial import; requiring serious thought“grave responsibilities”

3

dignified and somber in manner or character and committed to keeping promises“a grave God-fearing man”

verb

1

carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface“engrave a pen”

2

shape (a material like stone or wood) by whittling away at it“She is sculpting the block of marble into an image of her husband”

noun

1

a place for the burial of a corpse (especially beneath the ground and marked by a tombstone)“he put flowers on his mother's grave”

2

a mark (‘) placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation

3

death of a person“he went to his grave without forgiving me”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with grave?17

one syllable

gavesavewavebraveslavecaveshaveravecravewaivepavefavenavestave

two syllables

behaveforgaveconcave
Show 40 near rhymes
theymakewaymaydaymadetakesaygreatsamestategameplaceawaydaysnameplaycasetodaychangestatesbasedcamemakesfacegamespaywaitlatestayagemainplayedrespacedatebreaktakesbecameok

Grave in a sentence

  • Nothing's more playful than a young cat, nor more grave than an old one.Hybrid
  • His face was grave, and his manner was cold in the extreme.Hybrid
  • A dog was next to the open grave, howling.CK
  • She did not seem afraid, and her grave, steadfast eyes looked straight ahead.Hybrid
  • If our grandfather saw this, he'd be rolling in his grave.DJ_Saidez
  • Hope is a staff, from the cradle to the grave.AlanF_US
  • A year after he was killed, he arose from the grave.shekitten
  • Her body was buried in a mass grave, and her personal belongings were burned.pip

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of grave

as a noun

plural
graves

as a verb

third-person singular
graves
present participle
graving
past tense
graved
past participle
graved

as a adjective

comparative
graver
superlative
gravest