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Bereavement
The state of sorrow and mourning after the death of a loved one; the period of mourning that follows a loss.
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Imagine This
Imagine a person holding a stack of sympathy cards in a quiet, dim house. A calendar on the wall shows days marked off since the death, and every room carries a subtle scent of flowers placed at a grave. The person sits with a hand on a photo, tears streaming, as friends softly offer support and the world feels heavy with mourning.
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Sounds Like
bə-REEV-mənt
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Looks Like
Looks like bereave + ment; visually resembles the root word bereave (to deprive) with the noun-forming suffix -ment.
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Remember This
Bereavement refers specifically to the period of mourning after a death. It can be experienced as a phase or state, and you can be 'in bereavement' or take 'bereavement leave' from work. Grief is the broader emotional response to loss; bereavement is the condition resulting from that loss.
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Other Forms
bereaveverb
bereavedadjective
bereavingpresent participle/gerund
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Connect With
grief, mourning, loss, sorrow, sorrowful, mourning period
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Note
Do not confuse with grief or mourning as separate concepts—bereavement is the circumstance of loss, while grief is the emotional response. Commonly paired with 'leave' (bereavement leave) in workplace or school policies.
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Study Deeper
Examples
- She entered a period of bereavement after the death of her father.
- The company offered bereavement leave to employees who needed time off after a death in the family.
Synonyms
griefmourninglosssorrowsadness
Antonyms
joyhappinesscelebration
Etymology
From Old English bereafian (to deprive, rob) with the noun-forming suffix -ment; later Middle English via bereavement, meaning the act or state of being deprived, especially of a loved one.
Mnemonic
BE-REAVE-MENT: Be-reave means to take away; bereavement is the state of having something precious taken away—remember by picturing a bear taking a treasured item away, leaving you in a state of loss.
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Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Abasement
nounThe act or instance of humiliating or degrading someone; the state of being lowered in dignity or status.
Absurdity
nounThe quality or state of being wildly unreasonable, illogical, or ridiculous; something that is completely contrary to reason or common sense.
Accent
nounA distinctive way of pronouncing words; the act of emphasizing a syllable or word (as a verb, to accent means to emphasize).
Accolade
nounAn honor; a public expression of praise or an award.
Acrimony
nounBitterness of speech or manner; ill feeling
Acronym
nounA word formed from the initial letters of a phrase, pronounced as a single word and used as a shorthand for the full name (for example, NASA or radar).
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