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Antonyms for grave


Grammar : Adj, noun
Spell : greyv
Phonetic Transcription : greɪv



Definition of grave

Origin :
  • Old English græf "grave, ditch, cave," from Proto-Germanic *graban (cf. Old Saxon graf, Old Frisian gref, Old High German grab "grave, tomb;" Old Norse gröf "cave," Gothic graba "ditch"), from PIE root *ghrebh- "to dig, to scratch, to scrape" (cf. Old Church Slavonic grobu "grave, tomb"); related to grafan "to dig" (see grave (v.)).
  • "The normal mod. representation of OE. græf would be graff; the ME. disyllable grave, from which the standard mod. form descends, was prob. due to the especially frequent occurrence of the word in the dat. (locative) case. [OED]
  • From Middle Ages to 17c., they were temporary, crudely marked repositories from which the bones were removed to ossuaries after some years and the grave used for a fresh burial. "Perpetual graves" became common from c.1650. To make (someone) turn in his grave "behave in some way that would have offended the dead person" is first recorded 1888.
  • adj serious; gloomy
  • adj crucial, dangerous
  • noun burial place
Example sentences :
  • “I mean a man sad and grave as the monks of Beaulieu,” said the jester.
  • Extract from : « The Armourer's Prentices » by Charlotte M. Yonge
  • Then he set to work and made himself a grave which was to endure for all time.
  • Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon
  • See what grave reflections an innocent subject will produce!
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • Excuse me, my dear friend, for these grave soliloquies, as I may call them.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • What way will I live and the girls with me, and I an old woman looking for the grave?
  • Extract from : « Riders to the Sea » by J. M. Synge
  • Alas, the vanity of mortal projects, even when they centre in the grave!
  • Extract from : « Other Tales and Sketches » by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • But every body else was there, so we did not miss these grave and reverend seigniors.
  • Extract from : « Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 6, May 7, 1870 » by Various
  • Mary regarded the owner of the store with grave questioning in her violet eyes.
  • Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana
  • I should not rest quiet in the grave, coz, if I had not another turn at them.
  • Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • "Don't worry about the boy," he said, with grave kindliness.
  • Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana

Synonyms for grave

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019