bereave
verb (used with object)
to deprive and make desolate, especially by death (usually followed byof ).
had bereft
-
past perfectof bereave.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At Paris, in the headquarters of General Joffre, commanding the French forces, the shock had bereft most officers of any plan except continued retreat.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nothing about the chamber was displaced; only an empty photograph frame lying upon the dressing table told of the trembling, pale hands that had bereft it of its jewel.
From Out of the Ashes by Ethel Watts Mumford
The drought of unusual duration had bereft the air and the earth of every particle of moisture.
From Arthur Mervyn Or, Memoirs of the Year 1793 by Charles Brockden Brown
She felt oddly uncertain of herself, as if she had just come through a crisis that had bereft her of all her strength, "Of course," she said, not looking at him.
From The Top of the World by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell
Mr. Hearty looked at the sea of faces outside as an actor suffering from stage-fright might gaze at the audience that had bereft him of the power to speak or move.
From Bindle Some Chapters in the Life of Joseph Bindle by Herbert George Jenkins
