1. the state or condition of being bereaved; the loss of a loved one through death
Usage: formal; often used to describe the emotional state following a death
2. the state of being deprived or robbed of something valued
Usage: formal; less common than the primary sense

Examples

• The bereftness she felt after losing her mother was overwhelming.
• His bereftness was evident in the way he withdrew from friends and family.
• The community shared in the family's bereftness during the funeral service.
• Years of bereftness gradually gave way to acceptance and healing.
• She struggled with the bereftness of losing her childhood home.
• The bereftness of the refugees was compounded by their displacement.