bereavement

noun

be·​reave·​ment bi-ˈrēv-mənt How to pronounce bereavement (audio)
bē-
: the state or fact of being bereaved or deprived of something or someone

Examples of bereavement in a Sentence

The following May, my wife and I flew to London for my father's funeral. Pam, determined to wrangle us an upgrade to business class on the strength of my bereavement, gave the British Airways ticketing clerk two passports and a sob story. John Haney, Gourmet, January 2003
In the sections of her book that should prove an enduring contribution to the literature of grief, Ms. Gilbert recounts her free fall into widowhood, starting with that modern rite of bereavement, the erasing of the answering-machine message. James S. Kunen, New York Times Book Review, 19 Mar. 1995
In any case, sadness and loss of interest and drive during periods of bereavement are expected and normal. If Mozart had not been upset by his parents' deaths, his wife's illnesses, and his separations from her, he would be less than human. William A. Frosch, Musical Quarterly, 1990
a period of grief after bereavement people who have recently suffered bereavements
Recent Examples on the Web During times of bereavement, or in attempts to understand the process of grief, many refer to the pioneering model of The Five Stages of Grief. Mark Travers, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Around 90% of employers offer bereavement leave, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s 2022 employee benefits survey, up from 81% in 2016. Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2023 Following the death of their grandmother, the passenger used Air Canada’s chatbot on the website to research flights which suggested the passenger could apply for bereavement fares retroactively. Marisa Garcia, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 The chatbot’s responses linked to the airline’s webpage that detailed its bereavement travel policy. Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024 Care days are separate from sick days, personal days, bereavement days, and certainly vacation days. Paul Sullivan, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024 In particular, his and Maria’s joint resolve to completely homeschool the four kids seems more like folly in the cold light of bereavement. Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 Jan. 2024 Pet restrictions on rental properties remain common; pet insurance is a rarity among employee benefits; and although most people might be sympathetic to a pet’s death, mentions of animal bereavement leave can be laughed off as a joke. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024 To determine the next steps, the provincial bereavement authority is now in talks with the Six Nations and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, who share rights to the land, according to the Art Newspaper. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bereavement.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see bereave

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bereavement was in 1660

Dictionary Entries Near bereavement

Cite this Entry

“Bereavement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bereavement. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bereavement

noun
be·​reave·​ment bi-ˈrēv-mənt How to pronounce bereavement (audio)
: the state or fact of being bereaved
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!