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tr.v. be·reaved or be·reft (-rĕft), be·reav·ing, be·reaves 1. To take a loved one from (a person), especially by death: "Cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the woman and children bereaved" (Alan Paton). 2. To take something valuable or necessary from (a person or thing): "He was subject to fits, which bereaved him ... of his senses" (David Hume). [Middle English bireven, to deprive, from Old English berēafian; see reup- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] be·reavement n. be·reaver n. |
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