MEANING
1. To deprive someone of a person close to them through death.
2. To deprive someone of something cherished or important.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- bereaved family
- bereaved of a child
On the page
The war bereaved families who had never seen its front.
She had been bereaved of her sister before the house was sold.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- bereave
- Past tense
- bereaved or bereft
- Past participle
- bereaved or bereft
- Present participle
- bereaving
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- bereave
- Present continuous
- am/is/are bereaving
- Present perfect
- have/has bereaved or bereft
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been bereaving
- Past
- bereaved or bereft
- Past continuous
- was/were bereaving
- Past perfect
- had bereaved or bereft
- Past perfect continuous
- had been bereaving
- Future
- will bereave
- Future continuous
- will be bereaving
- Future perfect
- will have bereaved or bereft
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been bereaving
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: bereave; bereaves; bereaved or bereft; bereaved or bereft; bereaving Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: bereaves.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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