bereaved

1 of 3

adjective

be·​reaved bi-ˈrēvd How to pronounce bereaved (audio)
bē-
Synonyms of bereaved
: suffering the death of a loved one
bereaved families of the victims

bereaved

2 of 3

noun

plural bereaved
: someone who is suffering the death of a loved one : one who is bereaved
comfort the bereaved

bereaved

3 of 3

past tense and past participle of bereave

Synonyms of bereaved

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of bereaved in a Sentence

Adjective the bereaved parents of the victims the grief of the bereaved parents seemed to be without limit
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Scientists are beginning to study the ways that exercise can help bereaved people navigate loss. — Maggie Penman, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2026 Sue Ryder’s Grief in the Workplace research found that bereaved employees operate at roughly 70 percent of their usual capacity in the first six months after a loss, and that a full year often passes before performance returns to baseline . — Mena Mirhom, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Noun
The bereaved can heal, suicide prevention experts say, but their pain is often underestimated. — Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2022 Both those who have lost a loved one and professionals serving the bereaved can get help finding government resources as well as crisis-relief services and more. — Jennifer Wolff, Good Housekeeping, 17 Nov. 2020 See All Example Sentences for bereaved

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

see bereave

Noun

see bereave

First Known Use

Adjective

1702, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1798, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bereaved was in 1702

Phrases Containing bereaved

Rhymes for bereaved

See All Rhymes for bereaved

Browse Nearby Words

bereave
bereaved
bereavement
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bereaved.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bereaved. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

bereaved

1 of 2 adjective
be·​reaved bi-ˈrēvd How to pronounce bereaved (audio)
: suffering the death of a loved one
bereaved family members

bereaved

2 of 2 noun
plural bereaved
: a person who is bereaved
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All