ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsBbereft
ISEE/SSAThard
bereft
Meaning: deprived of something precious, especially through loss
bereft in a sentence
How bereft is used in real sentences:
Without her closest adviser, the queen felt bereft and uncertain.
The archive was bereft of records from the town's earliest years.
“The contract instead required polished stainless steel, a material she considered cold, industrial, and bereft of the human marks that made sculpture intimate.”
— from the passage Against the Metal
Synonyms for bereft
Other words for bereft — deprived, dispossessed and lacking — carry the same meaning.
- deprived
- dispossessed
- lacking
Antonyms of bereft
Words that mean the opposite of bereft:
- endowed
- provided
- possessing
Where it comes from
From Old English bereafian, meaning 'to deprive or rob.'
Memory hook
BEREFT sounds like 'be left': to be left without something is to be bereft.