Bereft


a simple past tense and past participle of bereave.
deprived:
They are bereft of their senses. He is bereft of all happiness.
to deprive and make desolate, especially by death (usually followed by of):
Illness bereaved them of their mother.
to deprive ruthlessly or by force (usually followed by of):
The war bereaved them of their home.
Obsolete. to take away by violence.
Contemporary Examples

So Rangel, bereft of that narrative, chose instead to question the intelligence of a pesky, inquisitorial journalist.
Charlie Rangel Is Toast Tunku Varadarajan July 22, 2010

One about teens battling to the death, and several about bereft middle-aged people struggling to keep it together.
Whatever Happened to Great Holiday Films? Liesl Schillinger November 30, 2013

What comes as a surprise is how bereft the chattery, clear-eyed Sylvia is when Henry disappears.
My Italian Love Affair Taylor Antrim May 17, 2009

bereft of serious arguments, anti-Obama types resort to tendentious claims about symbolic slights.
Of Obama and Bagels Raphael Magarik July 24, 2012

Supermarkets are bereft of everything from milk to toilet paper.
Hugo Chávez’s House of Cards Mac Margolis March 6, 2013

Historical Examples

Soon thy sire will be bereft of his kingdom because of thy deeds; thy pride will bring death to thy kinsmen.
Indian Myth and Legend Donald Alexander Mackenzie

She rested supinely against him, as if bereft of any strength of body or of soul.
Within the Law Marvin Dana

I had not recovered, but stood there open-mouthed and eyed, bereft of speech, until the necessity for action was thrust upon me.
The Big Otter R.M. Ballantyne

Upbraid me with the loss of all of which you have bereft me.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10) Maria Edgeworth

The officers, as well as the spectators, sat dumb, bereft of speech.
The Lost Despatch Natalie Sumner Lincoln

adjective
(usually foll by of) deprived; parted (from): bereft of hope
verb (transitive)
(usually foll by of) to deprive (of) something or someone valued, esp through death
(obsolete) to remove by force
adj.

late 14c., past participle adjective from bereave (v.).
v.

Old English bereafian “to deprive of, take away, seize, rob,” from be + reafian “rob, plunder,” from Proto-Germanic *raubojanan, from PIE *reup- “to snatch” (see rapid). A common Germanic formation (cf. Old Frisian birava “despoil,” Old Saxon biroban, Dutch berooven, Old High German biroubon, German berauben, Gothic biraubon). Since mid-17c., mostly in reference to life, hope, loved ones, and other immaterial possessions. Past tense forms bereaved and bereft have co-existed since 14c., now slightly differentiated in meaning, the former applied to loss of loved ones, the latter to circumstances.

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