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bereft

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Deprived of or robbed of something precious, especially a loved one through death; left desolate or stripped of comfort, conveying profound loss.

Detailed Definition
“Bereft” conveys profound, often desolate loss, stronger than “deprived.” It appears in elegies and psalms to express spiritual or emotional emptiness. The past participle of “bereave,” it implies irrevocable separation. Poets use it to heighten pathos, as in Tennyson’s “bereft of thee,” where its final consonant echoes finality. Its solemn tone suits meditations on mortality, exile, or divine absence.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Bereft of light, the world seemed void," echoes Genesis in poetic form; In Tennyson’s In Memoriam: "Bereft of all I deemed divine"; Shakespeare’s King Lear: "O, I am slain! My master hath been murdered! / Bereft of life!"; Milton’s Adam is "bereft" of paradise; "Bereft of hope, she wandered the shore"; The soldier returned bereft of comrades and joy.
Additional Notes
“Bereft” is the archaic past participle of “bereave,” emphasizing profound loss, especially of loved ones; it carries a passive, almost fated quality—“bereft of hope”—and is central to elegiac and devotional poetry’s emotional lexicon.
Also Known As
deprived robbed stripped Reft
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