bereavement
(bɪˈriːvmənt)
[f. as prec. + -ment.]
The fact or state of being bereaved or deprived of anything; spec. as in prec.
| 1731 Bailey II, Bereavement, a deprivation or being bereav'd or depriv'd of anything. 1827 Hor. Smith Tor Hill (L.) He bore his bereavement with stoical fortitude. 1858 J. Martineau Stud. Chr. 197 Total bereavement and utter death of joy. 1866 Alger Solit. Nat. & Man ii. 40 Bereavement, in its essence, is always the loss of some object accustomed to draw forth the soothing or cheering reactions of the soul. |