A. E. WierThe Times Literary Supplement (London)
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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."
Examples of bereft in a Sentence
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
Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 18 May 2026
Some of the present hyper-scalers may have collapsed and burned, leaving investors bereft.
—Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 13 May 2026
In a season with only 11 musicals and otherwise bereft of serious scores, that was, to say the least, unfortunate.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2026
Observing tips The lunar disk is entirely bereft of shadows during the full moon phase, making this the perfect time to trace the outline of lunar maria — where lava flows filled colossal impact basins billions of years ago before hardening to form sweeping basaltic plains.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bereft
Cite this Entry
“Bereft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bereft. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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bereft
adjective
