BEREAVE
bereave
(verb) deprive through death
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
bereave (third-person singular simple present bereaves, present participle bereaving, simple past and past participle bereft or bereaved)
(transitive) To deprive by or as if by violence; to rob; to strip; to benim.
(transitive, obsolete) To take away by destroying, impairing, or spoiling; take away by violence.
(transitive) To deprive of power; prevent.
(transitive) To take away someone or something that is important or close; deprive.
(intransitive, rare) To destroy life; cut off.
Source: Wiktionary
Be*reave" (, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bereaved (, Bereft (; p. pr. & vb.
n. Bereaving.] Etym: [OE. bireven, AS. bereáfian. See Be-, and
Reave.]
1. To make destitute; to deprive; to strip; -- with of before the
person or thing taken away.
Madam, you have bereft me of all words. Shak.
Bereft of him who taught me how to sing. Tickell.
2. To take away from. [Obs.]
All your interest in those territories Is utterly bereft you; all is
lost. Shak.
3. To take away. [Obs.]
Shall move you to bereave my life. Marlowe.
Note: The imp. and past pple. form bereaved is not used in reference
to immaterial objects. We say bereaved or bereft by death of a
relative, bereft of hope and strength.
Syn.
– To dispossess; to divest.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition