bereft

- 4 dictionary results

be⋅reft

[bi-reft]

–verb

1.	a pt. and pp. of bereave.

–adjective

2.	deprived: They are bereft of their senses. He is bereft of all happiness.

Origin:
1525–35; be- + reft

[bi-reev]

–verb (used with object), -reaved or -reft, -reav⋅ing.

1.	to deprive and make desolate, esp. by death (usually fol. by of): Illness bereaved them of their mother.

2.	to deprive ruthlessly or by force (usually fol. by of): The war bereaved them of their home.

3.	Obsolete. to take away by violence.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME bereven, OE berēafian; c. D berooven, G berauben, Goth biraubōn. See be-, reave ¹

Related forms:

be⋅reave⋅ment, noun

be⋅reav⋅er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

be·reave (bĭ-rēv')

tr.v. be·reaved or be·reft (-rěft'), be·reav·ing, be·reaves

To leave desolate or alone, especially by death: "Cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the woman and children bereaved" (Alan Paton).
Archaic To take (something valuable or necessary), typically by force.

[Middle English bireven, to deprive, from Old English berēafian; see reup- in Indo-European roots.]
be·reave'ment n., be·reav'er n.

be·reft (bĭ-rěft')

v. A past tense and a past participle of bereave.
adj.

1. Deprived of something: They are bereft of their dignity.
2. Lacking something needed or expected: "Today's graduates seem keenly aware that the future is bereft of conventional expectations" (Bruce Weber).
Suffering the death of a loved one; bereaved: the bereft parents.

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