gravamen

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“
Our gravamen is that in spite of the obligation assumed in the cited note, she has omitted to suppress the movement directed against the territorial integrity of the monarchy.

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Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun Law The part of a charge or an accusation that weighs most substantially against the accused.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • The gravamen of the Complaint is that the defendant, Al Gore defames the plaintiff by alleging that Man, and not The Sun, warms the Earth. —  Gamecock - A Townhall.com user blog
  • The gravamen of the essay, however, is offensive on a higher plane than mere syntax. —  Council on Hemispheric Affairs
  • (Klein's affidavit formed the gravamen of a lawsuit against AT&T mounted by the Electronic Freedom Foundation, but the lawsuit died when Congress passed the telecom immunity bill last year.) —  CounterPunch
  • If this were an optimized method of immunization of animals, that's clearly patentable, because the gravamen of the claimed subject matter involves transformation of a substance (mammals). —  Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)
  • As to the gravamen of the ad, Obama did indeed support legislation teaching "comprehensive sex education" to kindergartners. —  GayPatriot
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Medieval Latin gravāmen, injury, accusation, from Late Latin, encumbrance, obligation, from Latin gravāre, to burden, from gravis, heavy; see grave2.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Late Latin, trouble, physical inconvenience, literally burden, from Latin gravare, weigh down, load, burden, from gravis, heavy: see grave.
 

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/grəˈveɪmɛn/
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