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.動詞及物 / 不及物C2
釋義

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.

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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')

文法句型

be + bereaved + of + [person]

be + bereaved

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.