bereave

verb

bi-ˈrēv How to pronounce bereave (audio)
Definition of bereavenext
as in to deprive
to take something away from news of a death in the family bereaved them of the unmitigated joy that normally prevails at a wedding

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bereave
  1. deprive
  2. strip
Verb
  • This political uncertainty makes US suppliers seem unreliable, fostering competition and depriving American firms of invaluable insights.
    — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Israel’s top court ruled in 2025 that the prison service under Ben-Gvir was depriving Palestinians of a minimum subsistence diet.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of deprive
Verb
  • During the Saturday general session meeting, Donna Soucy, a New Hampshire DNC member, defended the Granite State’s ability to evaluate presidential candidates despite being stripped of its former first-place status.
    — Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Those already in the country on programs like Temporary Protected Status have also been stripped of that permission to stay.
    — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of strip
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

berating
bereave
bereaved
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bereave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bereave. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on bereave

Nglish: Translation of bereave for Spanish Speakers

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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of divulge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All