bereave
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English bereven, from Old English berēafian (“to bereave, deprive of, take away, seize, rob, despoil”) and Old English berēofan (“to bereave, deprive, rob of”); both equivalent to be- + reave. Cognate with Dutch beroven (“to rob, deprive, bereave”), German berauben (“to deprive, rob, bereave”), Danish berove (“to deprive of”), Norwegian berove (“to deprive”), Swedish beröva (“to rob”).
Pronunciation [edit]
Verb [edit]
bereave (third-person singular simple present bereaves, present participle bereaving, simple past and past participle bereaved or bereft)
- (transitive) To deprive by or as if by violence; rob; strip.
- (transitive) To take away by destroying, impairing, or spoiling; take away by violence.
- (transitive) To deprive of power; prevent.
- (transitive) To take away someone or something important or close; deprive.
- Death bereaved him of his wife.
- The castaways were bereft of hope.
- (intransitive, rare) To destroy life; cut off.
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
To take away someone or something important or close
