bereaving

Verb

bereave (third-person singular simple present bereaves, present participle bereaving, simple past and past participle bereaved or bereft)

1. (transitive) To deprive by or as if by violence; to rob; to strip.
   • Madam, you have bereft me of all words,c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
2. (obsolete, transitive) To take away by destroying, impairing, or spoiling; take away by violence.
   • All your interest in those territories / Is utterly bereft you; all is lost.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
3. (transitive) To deprive of power; prevent.
4. (transitive) To take away someone or something that is important or close; deprive.
   • Death bereaved him of his wife.
5. (intransitive, rare) To destroy life; cut off.