bereave means to deprive by or as if by violence; to rob; to strip. It carries an Arena rating of 1813, earned across 49 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, bereave ranks #850 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,945 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,390 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #2,745 of 17,105 for Most Storied Words.
bereave is pronounced /bɪˈɹiːv/.
Why “bereave” is a great word
BEREAVE — [Verb] To deprive, especially of something essential or of a loved one, often through death or a profound loss. From Middle English bireven, from Old English berēafian ("to deprive of, rob, despoil"), from the prefix be- (thoroughly) + rēafian ("to rob, plunder"), from Proto-Germanic *raubōną. Unlike "deprive," a general term for taking away, or "rob," which denotes a criminal seizure, to bereave is to enact a thorough, hollowing theft of the irreplaceable. It is the scent lingering in an empty closet, the sudden silence in a house where a voice should answer, and the future hollowed of its promised shape—the quiet arithmetic of a subtraction that leaves no remainder but absence.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English bireven, from Old English berēafian (“to bereave, deprive of, take away, seize, rob, despoil”), from Proto-Germanic *biraubōną, and Old English berēofan (“to bereave, deprive, rob of”); both equivalent to be- + reave. Cognate with Dutch beroven (“to rob, deprive, bereave”), German berauben (“to deprive, rob, bereave”), Danish berøve (“to deprive of”), Norwegian berøve (“to deprive”), Swedish beröva (“to rob”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌱𐍉𐌽 (biraubōn).
verb
- To deprive by or as if by violence; to rob; to strip.e.g.“Madam, you have bereft me of all words,” — c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blou
- To take away by destroying, impairing, or spoiling; take away by violence.e.g.“All your interest in those territories / Is utterly bereft you; all is lost.” — 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[w
- To deprive of power; prevent.
- To take away someone or something that is important or close; deprive.e.g.“Death bereaved him of his wife.”
- To destroy life; cut off.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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