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Absence vs Bereft - What's the difference?

absence | bereft |

As a noun absence

is a state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; the period of being away .

As a verb bereft is

(bereave).

As an adjective bereft is

(of a person) pained by the loss of someone.

absence

English

Alternative forms

*

Noun

(en-noun)
  • A state of being away or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; the period of being away.
  • * (rfdate) (w) 2:12
    • Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence .
  • Failure to be present where one is expected, wanted, or needed; nonattendance; deficiency.
  • * (rfdate) - Kent
    • In the absence of conventional law.
  • Lack; deficiency; nonexistence.
  • Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind).
  • * (rfdate), (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)
    • Reflecting on the little absences and distractions of mankind.
  • * 1824-1829? , (w), (Imaginary Conversations)
    • To conquer that abstraction which is called absence .
  • (medical) Temporary loss or disruption of consciousness, with sudden onset and recovery, and common in epilepsy.
  • (fencing) Lack of contact between blades.

    • Derived terms

    * absence makes the heart grow fonder

    Related terms

    * absent * absentee * absenteeism

    Antonyms

    * (state of being away) presence * existence, possession, sufficiency

    References

    ----

    bereft

    English

    Verb

    (head)
  • (bereave)
    • bereft of strength – powerless
    bereft of gorm – in Yorkshire dialect – mindless one, idiot = gormless

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (of a person) pained by the loss of someone
  • * '>citation
  • deprived of, lacking, stripped of, robbed of
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=David Ornstein , title=Macc Tel-Aviv 1–2 Stoke , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=The hosts had not lost in 12 home European games but looked shaky at the back and bereft of attacking ideas, inviting Stoke forward for further opportunities.}}
  • * {{quote-book, passage=And there I strove, and there I clove through the drift of icy streams; / And there I fought, and there I sought for the pay-streak of my dreams. ¶ So twenty years, with their hopes and fears and smiles and tears and such, / Went by and left me long bereft of hope of the Midas touch;
    • , title=(Ballads of a Cheechako) , chapter=(The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike) , author=Robert W. Service , year=1909}}
  • *
    • Mr. Praline: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!