bereavement
noun
be·reave·ment
bi-ˈrēv-mənt 
bē-
Examples of bereavement in a Sentence
The following May, my wife and I flew to London for my father's funeral. Pam, determined to wrangle us an upgrade to business class on the strength of my bereavement, gave the British Airways ticketing clerk two passports and a sob story.
—
John Haney, Gourmet, January 2003
In the sections of her book that should prove an enduring contribution to the literature of grief, Ms. Gilbert recounts her free fall into widowhood, starting with that modern rite of bereavement, the erasing of the answering-machine message.
—James S. Kunen, New York Times Book Review, 19 Mar. 1995
In any case, sadness and loss of interest and drive during periods of bereavement are expected and normal. If Mozart had not been upset by his parents' deaths, his wife's illnesses, and his separations from her, he would be less than human.
—William A. Frosch, Musical Quarterly, 1990
a period of grief after bereavement
people who have recently suffered bereavements
John Haney, Gourmet, January 2003
In the sections of her book that should prove an enduring contribution to the literature of grief, Ms. Gilbert recounts her free fall into widowhood, starting with that modern rite of bereavement, the erasing of the answering-machine message.
—James S. Kunen, New York Times Book Review, 19 Mar. 1995
In any case, sadness and loss of interest and drive during periods of bereavement are expected and normal. If Mozart had not been upset by his parents' deaths, his wife's illnesses, and his separations from her, he would be less than human.
—William A. Frosch, Musical Quarterly, 1990
a period of grief after bereavement
people who have recently suffered bereavements
Recent Examples on the Web
Mercer's survey of 630 U.S. organizations found 62% now offer bereavement leave for pregnancy loss, and 58% offer bereavement leave for miscarriage.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 18 May 2025
One example that made global headlines was Air Canada’s AI agent, which incorrectly told a customer about a bereavement discount.
—Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Often the oddity comes from the chilling drone of bureaucracy: the executor’s compassionate thicket of legal reasoning, an airline representative’s denial of Carrie’s quest for a bereavement discount, the dollars and cents of Dr. J’s cremation (for which Carrie is retroactively billed).
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
But even apart from recent budget cuts, there is a notable absence of national policies that reflect what loss actually looks like: expanded bereavement leave, sustained mental health funding, and public acknowledgment of collective trauma.
—Rebecca Soffer, Time, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bereavement
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Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 18 May 2025
One example that made global headlines was Air Canada’s AI agent, which incorrectly told a customer about a bereavement discount.
—Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
Often the oddity comes from the chilling drone of bureaucracy: the executor’s compassionate thicket of legal reasoning, an airline representative’s denial of Carrie’s quest for a bereavement discount, the dollars and cents of Dr. J’s cremation (for which Carrie is retroactively billed).
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
But even apart from recent budget cuts, there is a notable absence of national policies that reflect what loss actually looks like: expanded bereavement leave, sustained mental health funding, and public acknowledgment of collective trauma.
—Rebecca Soffer, Time, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for bereavement
Cite this Entry
“Bereavement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bereavement. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bereavement
noun
be·reave·ment
bi-ˈrēv-mənt
: the state or fact of being bereaved
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