bereave
verb /bɪˈriːv/
/bɪˈriːv/
be bereaved
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they bereave | /bɪˈriːv/ /bɪˈriːv/ |
| he / she / it bereaves | /bɪˈriːvz/ /bɪˈriːvz/ |
| past simple bereaved | /bɪˈriːvd/ /bɪˈriːvd/ |
| past participle bereaved | /bɪˈriːvd/ /bɪˈriːvd/ |
| -ing form bereaving | /bɪˈriːvɪŋ/ /bɪˈriːvɪŋ/ |
- if somebody is bereaved, a relative or close friend has just died
- The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved.
Word OriginOld English berēafian (from be- and reave ‘to rob someone of something’). The original sense was ‘deprive of’ in general.