bereft

adjective

be·reft bi-ˈreft

Synonyms of bereft next

: deprived or robbed of the possession or use of something

—usually used with of

both players are instantly bereft of their poise—

A. E. Wier

: lacking something needed, wanted, or expected

—used with of

the book is … completely bereft of an index—

The Times Literary Supplement (London)

: suffering the death of a loved one : bereaved

a bereft mother

Did you know?

In Old English, the verb berēafian meant "to plunder or rob." The modern equivalent (and descendant) of berēafian is bereave, a verb that implies that you have robbed or stripped someone of something, often suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes by force. Bereft comes from the past participle of bereave; Shakespeare uses the participle in The Merchant of Venice, when Bassanio tells Portia, "Madam, you have bereft me of all words." But by Shakespeare's day bereft was also being used as an adjective. The Bard uses it in The Taming of the Shrew, as a newly obedient and docile Katharina declares, "A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled—muddy, … thick, bereft of beauty."

Examples of bereft in a Sentence

She finds the child's mother, alone, who has apparently gone into the woods just to cry. The bereft mother is played by Julianne Moore. —

Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic, 31 Jan. 2000

… made the tabloids when his wife ran off to France with her dentist and the bereft realtor placed a newspaper ad for a girl to adopt to keep him company. —

Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998

It's not that the country was completely bereft of humor. —

Joseph Contrevas, Newsweek, 6 June 1994

to one investigator, the bereft woman seemed to be taking the sudden death of her rich husband amazingly well a cheap motel completely bereft of all amenities

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

In the final moments of The Lincoln Lawyer season 2, a bereft Haller gets a lead on a new case and goes to see the body of the murder victim. —

Erica Marrison, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024 In her 2012 documentary—filmed more than 40 years after his death—Ethel looked as bereft as ever when the subject of his assassination was brought up. —

Kathy Ehrich Dowd, TIME, 10 Oct. 2024 When Pat dies suddenly, a bereft Angie finds herself in a situation that puts her at odds with Shing’s family, whose handling of their grief begins to look a lot like callous discrimination. —

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024 What of parents left bereft and children left without parents? —

Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 13 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for bereft