bereft en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English bireft, v. Middle English bireven. Synchronically a form of bereaved; compare leave and left.
Meanings
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(not-comparable, of a person) Pained by the loss of someone.
[Oscar] Pistorius's punishment for killing her [Reeva Steenkamp] that night is but a frippery when set against the burden that her bereft parents, June and Barry, must carry.
2014 October 21, Oliver Brown, “Oscar Pistorius jailed for five years”, in The Daily Telegraph (Sport):I was utterly bereft in the months following my wife's death.
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(not-comparable) Deprived of, stripped of, robbed of.
And there I strove, and there I clove through the drift of icy streams; / And there I fought, and there I sought for the pay-streak of my dreams. // So twenty years, with their hopes and fears and smiles and tears and such, / Went by and left me long bereft of hope of the Midas touch; […]
1909, Robert W[illiam] Service, “The Ballad of One-eyed Mike”, in Ballads of a Cheechako, Toronto, Ont.: William Briggs, →OCLC, stanzas 3–4, page 52:The hosts had not lost in 12 home European games but looked shaky at the back and bereft of attacking ideas, inviting Stoke forward for further opportunities.
2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1–2 Stoke”, in BBC Sport:This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It’s expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It’s a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed it to the perch it would be pushing up the daisies!
1969 December 7, Monty Python, “Full Frontal Nudity, Dead Parrot sketch”, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, spoken by Mr Praline (John Cleese):
- (not-comparable) Lacking, devoid of.
Deriveds
Synonyms
Translations (36)
bg лишен (deprived of) · cs zbavený m čeho (deprived of) · tr mahrum (deprived of) · is svipta (deprived of) · la orbus (deprived of) · sv berövad (deprived of) · ru ограбленный (deprived of) · fi kaipaava (pained by the loss of someone) · de hinterblieben (pained by the loss of someone) · pl osamotniony (pained by the loss of someone) · pt destituído (deprived of) · bg лишен (pained by the loss of someone) · tr yoksun (deprived of) · is taka frá (deprived of) · pt privado (deprived of) · ru утративший (deprived of) · fi sureva (pained by the loss of someone) · cs připravený o co (pained by the loss of someone) · de verlassen (deprived of) · fi surullinen (pained by the loss of someone) · de beraubt (deprived of) · it deprivato (deprived of) · fi ilman (deprived of) · mk ли́шен (pained by the loss of someone) · mk ли́шен (deprived of) · fr privé de (deprived of) · pl pozbawiony (deprived of) · ru лишённый (deprived of) · cs zbavený čeho (pained by the loss of someone) · mi tukaunga (deprived of) · ru утративший (pained by the loss of someone) · it orbato (deprived of) · fi osaton (deprived of) · it deprivato (pained by the loss of someone) · ru лишённый (pained by the loss of someone) · la orbus (pained by the loss of someone)