Bereavement
noun /bɪˈriːv.mənt/ — The state of loss following someone's death
Definition
The state of having suffered a loss — particularly the death of a loved person. Bereavement refers both to the fact of loss and the experience of grief that follows it.
Beyond the definition
The word that names what you are when someone has died. Bereavement is the clinical term that contains the whole human experience.
Origin & history
From Old English 'bereafian' (to rob, to plunder) — the same root as 'bereft'. To be bereaved is to have been robbed of someone.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The bereavement support group met on Thursday evenings and changed lives.
Bereavement is a process, not a single event — the literature kept telling her that, and eventually it became true.
He was in bereavement for longer than anyone said was normal, which turned out to be exactly right.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Bereavement” when the meaning fits your context: The state of having suffered a loss — particularly the death of a loved person. Bereavement refers both to the fact of loss and the experience of grief that follows it.
Synonyms
grief, mourning, loss, sorrow, desolation
Antonyms
wholeness, fullness
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
The Experience of Suffering Loss
A person sits in a dark, quiet room with their head lowered, looking at an empty chair as a somber manifestation of their sorrow.
Bereavement is the state of having suffered a loss and the subsequent experience of grief. By visualizing the subject's profound sorrow through the empty chair and dark, isolating environment, this image captures the internal reality of bereavement—the tangible presence of absence and the ongoing emotional work that the state entails.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Bereavement" mean?
Bereavement is noun meaning: The state of loss following someone's death. The state of having suffered a loss — particularly the death of a loved person. Bereavement refers both to the fact of loss and the experience of grief that follows it.
Where does the word "Bereavement" come from?
From Old English 'bereafian' (to rob, to plunder) — the same root as 'bereft'. To be bereaved is to have been robbed of someone.