gravamen

gra·va·men

G g

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [gruh-vey-muh n]
- /grəˈveɪ mən/
- /ɡrə.ˈveɪ.men/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [gruh-vey-muh n]
- /grəˈveɪ mən/

Definitions of gravamen word

noun plural gravamen the part of an accusation that weighs most heavily against the accused; the substantial part of a charge or complaint. 1
noun plural gravamen a grievance. 1
noun gravamen The essence or most serious part of a complaint or accusation. 1
noun gravamen that part of an accusation weighing most heavily against an accused 0
noun gravamen the substance or material grounds of a complaint 0
noun gravamen a grievance 0

See all 7 definitions of gravamen

Information block about the term

Origin of gravamen

First appearance:

before 1595

One of the 38% oldest English words

1595-1605; < Late Latin: trouble, physical inconvenience, equivalent to Latin gravā(re) to load, weigh down (derivative of gravis heavy, burdened) + -men noun suffix

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Gravamen

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Gravamen

gravamen popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 63% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 50% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

gravamen usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for gravamen

noun gravamen

basic — You use basic to describe things, activities, and principles that are very important or necessary, and on which others depend.
bosom — A woman's breasts are sometimes referred to as her bosom or her bosoms.
bottom line — The bottom line in a decision or situation is the most important factor that you have to consider.
center — a point equally distant from all points on the circumference of a circle or surface of a sphere
core — The core of a fruit is the central part of it. It contains seeds or pips.

All 30 Synonyms of gravamen