grievance

noun

1. (countable)Something which causes grief.
2. (countable)A wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint.

   “[T]he King is vveary / Of daintie and ſuch picking greeuances, / For he hath found, to end one doubt by death, / Reuiues tvvo greater in the heires of life: […]”

   “November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk Wayne Rooney spent much of the game remonstrating with Oliver about his own grievances and, in the interest of balance, there were certainly occasions when United had legitimate complaints.”

   “Throughout the 1500s, the populace roiled over a constellation of grievances of which the forest emerged as a key focal point. The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.”

3. (uncountable)Feelings of being wronged; outrage; resentment, bitterness or anger.

   “The issues of harassment and/or bullying was the top common source of grievance, followed by discipline, and then new working practices.”

   “Given the non-significance of grievance in the estimated results, I proceeded to check whether the data provide a systematic and rational explanation of personal grievance among the population.”

   “The left half of the equation draws on grievance while the liberal half is sustained by guilt, and as such they enjoy a symbiotic relationship: the more grievance the left can generate, the more guilt the liberal will feel, and the more guilt the liberal feels, the more grievance the left are able to generate.”

   “Warfare is a condition in which there is more greed and more grievance, more deterrence and more defiance.”

4. (countable)A complaint or annoyance.
5. (countable)A formal complaint, especially in the context of a unionized workplace.

   “If you want the problem fixed, you'll have to file a grievance with the city.”

6. (uncountable)Violation of regulations or objectionable behavior.

   “Interim work rules, that served as bridge between expired and future contract between city and firefighters' association, did not commit grievance regarding firefighters' entitlement to step wage increases to arbitration.”