bereave

[ bih-reev ]

See synonyms for: bereave bereaved bereft bereavement on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),be·reaved or be·reft, be·reav·ing.

to deprive and make desolate, especially by death (usually followed by of): Illness bereaved them of their mother.
to deprive ruthlessly or by force (usually followed by of): The war bereaved them of their home.

Obsolete. to take away by violence.

Origin of bereave

before 900; Middle English bereven,Old English berēafian; cognate with Dutch berooven,German berauben,Gothic biraubōn.See be-, reave¹

Other words from bereave

be·reave·ment, noun
be·reav·er, noun

Words Nearby bereave

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bereave in a sentence

Although the study didn’t calculate the ratio globally, more than 6 million have died worldwide, undoubtedly leaving tens of millions bereaved.
We can do better than what was ‘normal’ before the pandemic | Aimee Cunningham | April 4, 2022 | Science News
That’s roughly triple the death toll so far, leaving behind 116,900 parentally bereaved kids.
At Least 43,000 Kids in the U.S. Have Lost a Parent to COVID-19, Study Finds | Jeffrey Kluger | April 7, 2021 | Time
She will thee bereave of almost every joy, the fair-faced foster-child of Heimir.
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson | Saemund Sigfusson and Snorre Sturleson
To whom, think ye, is your life of such consequence, that they should seek to bereave ye of it?
Rob Roy, Complete, Illustrated | Sir Walter Scott
And, dear sweetheart, be not afraid that you shall be left without a lover; that I shall bereave you!
The Jessica Letters: An Editor's Romance | Paul Elmer More

But as a taste of blood will infuriate a hound, so her own laughter seemed to bereave Bianca of all restraint.
Fraternity | John Galsworthy
Fortuna opes auferre, non animum potest—Fortune may bereave us of wealth, but not of courage.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources | James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for bereave

bereave

/ (bɪˈriːv) /

verb(tr)

(usually foll by of) to deprive (of) something or someone valued, esp through death
obsolete to remove by force

Origin of bereave

Old English bereafian; see reave 1

See also bereft

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse