bereavement

Bereavement is a period of mourning or or state of intense grief, especially following the death of a loved one.

Bereavement is often a process that includes going through several stages of grief. Bereavement can also be used more generally to mean the state of having lost something very dear.

Example: While on bereavement leave from work, Jenn coped with her loss by spending time in nature and talking to a therapist.

Bereavement is first recorded in English around the 1730s. It is based on the much older word bereave, meaning “to take away or deprive, especially by death” (it has two past tense and adjective forms: bereaved and bereft). The suffix -ment, which indicates a state, is used to turn it into a noun. Bereave is related to the word reave, which means “to rob.” The word grieve sounds similar but is based on a different root, the Latin word gravāre, meaning “to burden.”

Bereavement is often thought of as the state of having been robbed of a loved one who has been taken away by death. That robbery leaves the heavy burden of grief. There are many different rituals associated with bereavement around the world. Many include a specific amount of time set aside for mourning. Relatedly, the word is sometimes used in the phrase bereavement leave, which is time off from work after a close relative dies. Of course, the intense sadness felt after the loss of a family member or friend doesn’t just expire after a certain amount of time. And it can often be more than just an emotion. Going through bereavement can result in a variety of psychological and even physical symptoms, such as weight loss and insomnia.

A person going through bereavement is often referred to as the bereaved. If this is you, we hope you find peace.

What are some other forms of bereavement?

• bereave (verb)

What are some synonyms for bereavement?

• grieving
• mourning
• lamentation

What are some words that share a root or word element with bereavement? 

 

• bereft
• reave

What are some words that often get used in discussing bereavement?

• grief
• mourn
• death
• loss
• funeral
• leave (of absence)

Bereavement can be used generally to describe a state of loss, but it is most commonly applied to a period of mourning for a loved one.

The MTA only gives their employees a standard THREE DAYS bereavement leave.

THREE DAYS?!

That is barbaric.

— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) February 26, 2020

Experienced similarly poor service with banks following bereavement. People die everyday yet banks seem incapable of sympathetic and efficient service and just add to the stress of an already stressful situation. Any banks listening? Improving ur service would be an easy win. https://t.co/YrbBDyOHP5

— Fourth sister (@Six_Sisters) February 26, 2020

Sadly, almost all of us experience bereavement some time in our lives. At the NHS we do our utmost to support people through it. Our Hospital Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care team has produced a booklet to guide loved ones through grief and next steps pic.twitter.com/l0N0vzxUK6

— Croydon Quality Improvement (@CroydonQI) February 26, 2020

 

 

Is bereavement used correctly in the following sentence?

Part of the bereavement process can include changes such as decreased appetite.