bereft

adjective

be·​reft bi-ˈreft 

1

a

: deprived or robbed of the possession or use of something

—usually used with of

both players are instantly bereft of their poise

—A. E. Wier

b

: lacking something needed, wanted, or expected

—used with of

the book is … completely bereft of an index

—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

2

: suffering the death of a loved one : bereaved

a bereft mother

Did you know?

In Old English, the verb berēafian meant "to plunder or rob." The modern equivalent (and descendant) of berēafian is bereave, a verb that implies that you have robbed or stripped someone of something, often suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes by force. Bereft comes from the past participle of bereave; Shakespeare uses the participle in The Merchant of Venice, when Bassanio tells Portia, "Madam, you have bereft me of all words." But by Shakespeare's day bereft was also being used as an adjective. The Bard uses it in The Taming of the Shrew, as a newly obedient and docile Katharina declares, "A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled—muddy, … thick, bereft of beauty."

Synonyms

• bereaved

Examples of bereft in a Sentence

She finds the child's mother, alone, who has apparently gone into the woods just to cry. The bereft mother is played by Julianne Moore. —Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic, 31 Jan. 2000

… made the tabloids when his wife ran off to France with her dentist and the bereft realtor placed a newspaper ad for a girl to adopt to keep him company. —Neal Gabler, Life: The Movie, 1998

It's not that the country was completely bereft of humor. —Joseph Contrevas, Newsweek, 6 June 1994

to one investigator, the bereft woman seemed to be taking the sudden death of her rich husband amazingly well

a cheap motel completely bereft of all amenities

Recent Examples on the Web

In a late scene, Daisy storms out of his thirtieth-birthday party, leaving his father swatting away imaginary owls and his neglectful, mad mother bereft. —Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024

Friends told me that their local 99 Cents Only stores were beginning to look as bereft as the pandemic days. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024

With Good Grief, now on Netflix, Levy goes beyond Schitt’s Creeks’ theatre of the absurd and deep into the shadows of the bereft. —Jason Sheeler, Peoplemag, 10 Jan. 2024

The pie shop’s traumatized young apprentice, Tobias, then cuts the bereft barber’s throat. —Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024

Feeling supported by your partner is a crucial need and its absence can leave you feeling bereft and alienated. —Mark Travers, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

As Céline launches a charm offensive — a kind of maternal seduction, even — on the boy, Alice grows ever more anxiously protective: Is her bereft neighbor merely seeking an outlet for her grief, or enacting some kind of covetous revenge? —Guy Lodge, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024

American men’s tennis has been especially bereft and starves for its next star. —Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2024

Housing is the perennial white whale, given how many buyers are bereft at the dearth of affordable options. —Jane Thier, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see bereave

First Known Use

1554, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing bereft

• bereft of

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Kids Definition

bereft

adjective

be·​reft bi-ˈreft 

1

: not having something needed, wanted, or expected

bereft of money

2

: bereaved entry 1