bereave

IPA/bɪˈriːv/
KK[bɚˈiv]IPA/bɪˈriːv/

bereave — verb

  • bereavepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • bereaveshe / she / it
  • bereavedpast simple
  • bereaving-ing form
  • bereftpast participle

1. to suffer the painful loss of a family member or very close friend caused by dea

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveC2
Definition

to suffer the painful loss of a family member or very close friend caused by death — when someone is bereaved, a person they deeply loved has just died, leaving them in a state of grief.

Example

Elena was bereaved of her husband last autumn and now lives with her sister.

bereaved of

The charity offers free counselling to anyone who has been recently bereaved.

been recently bereaved

Common collocations
  • bereaved of [a spouse / a parent / a child / a family member]
  • recently bereaved
  • newly bereaved
  • deeply bereaved
Synonyms
  • mourn

    Focuses on the emotional expression of grief rather than the act of losing someone; can be used actively ('she mourned her father')

  • grieve

    Describes the process of feeling deep sadness after a loss; used both actively and intransitively ('he grieved for years')

Grammar Patterns

be + bereaved + of + [person]

be + bereaved

Usage Note

Almost always used in the passive voice (be bereaved). The active form (e.g., 'death bereaved him of his wife') is extremely rare in modern English and sounds highly literary. The adjective 'bereaved' (as in 'the bereaved family') and the noun phrase 'the bereaved' (people who have lost someone) are more common than the verb itself.

Common Mistakes

He bereaved his wife last year.
He was bereaved of his wife last year.
This verb is almost always passive; the active form sounds unnatural and is rarely used.
She bereaved when her father died.
She was bereaved when her father died.
'Bereave' is a transitive verb and cannot be used intransitively without a passive form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All three words relate to the pain of loss through death, but they differ in grammar and emphasis. 'Bereave' is almost exclusively passive and transitive — you are bereaved of someone; it focuses on the objective fact of having lost a loved one. 'Mourn' is active and can be used with or without an object: you mourn someone's death or simply mourn. It emphasises the public or ritual expression of sorrow, such as wearing black or holding a funeral. 'Grieve' focuses on the internal emotional process of sadness; it is usually used intransitively ('she grieved for a long time') or with 'for/over' ('he grieved over the loss'). For example: 'After his mother died, Kenji was bereaved at a young age. The whole family mourned at the funeral, but his father grieved in silence for years.'

bereave ↗mourn ↗grieve ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be bereaved of
  • the recently bereaved
  • the newly bereaved

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

From Old English 'berēafian' (to deprive, take away by force), from 'be-' (intensive prefix) + 'rēafian' (to rob, plunder). In Middle English the sense narrowed from 'deprive of anything' to the specific meaning of loss through death. The related adjective 'bereft' preserves the older, broader meaning of being deprived of something non-living ('bereft of hope', 'bereft of reason').