bereavement
noun
be·reave·ment
bi-ˈrēv-mənt 
bē-
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
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
Sweeney co-stars with O’Brien, as the two play young men who meet at a twin bereavement group in this black comedy.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Oddly, Oh doesn’t seem to express the bereavement that is Olivia’s reason—or excuse—for withdrawing from the world of men.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
In 2024, a customer messaged Air Canada’s virtual assistant regarding the company’s bereavement fares and was provided with the wrong instructions on how to access the fare from the chatbot.
—Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Though some private New York employers already offer similar bereavement policies, there’s no across-the-board guarantee at the moment.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bereavement
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Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Oddly, Oh doesn’t seem to express the bereavement that is Olivia’s reason—or excuse—for withdrawing from the world of men.
—Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
In 2024, a customer messaged Air Canada’s virtual assistant regarding the company’s bereavement fares and was provided with the wrong instructions on how to access the fare from the chatbot.
—Gary Drenik, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
Though some private New York employers already offer similar bereavement policies, there’s no across-the-board guarantee at the moment.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bereavement
Cite this Entry
“Bereavement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bereavement. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bereavement
noun
be·reave·ment
bi-ˈrēv-mənt
: the state or fact of being bereaved
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