bereavement

C2+ Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /bɪˈrivmənt/ UK /bɪˈriːvmənt/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the state of grief and loss following someone's death

She took compassionate leave following her bereavement.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of grief and loss... loss grief mourning sorrow deprivation

Word family

Related forms bereave bereaved bereft

Etymology

From bereave + -ment, from Old English berēafian ('to deprive, rob').

berēafian Old English *raubōną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Word Formation & Derivatives

# bereavement

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** bɪˈrivmənt
**IPA (UK):** bɪˈriːvmənt

## Meanings
1. the state of grief and loss following someone's death

## Examples
- She took compassionate leave following her bereavement.

## Synonyms
- loss
- grief
- mourning
- sorrow
- deprivation

## Related Forms
- bereave
- bereaved
- bereft

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: berēafian
- Root: *raubōną

## Etymology
From bereave + -ment, from Old English berēafian ('to deprive, rob').

## AI Etymology
Bereavement is a noun meaning "the state of grief and loss following someone's death". Historically, it is from bereave + -ment, from Old English berēafian ('to deprive, rob'). The visible construction is part of the etymology: bereavement is not just an unanalyzed simple word. The modern meaning, "the state of grief and loss following someone's death", follows the base word through the added English ending. The historical chain links Old English berēafian with Proto-Germanic *raubōną. Close English family members include bereave, bereaved, and bereft.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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bereavement

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