bereft

/bəˈɹɛft/

//bəˈɹɛft// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bereft" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bereft” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,885. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,885
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of bereave

Corpus desk

Index EN-bereft · bereft · English

bereft · rank #36,885 · 9 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,885
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH belted

Nearest frequency peer: belted (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “bereft”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “bereft” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bereft vs Bert
50% similar
bereft vs brett
67% similar
bereft vs Brent
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bereft
PropertyValue
Headwordbereft
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bəˈɹɛft/
Letters6
Frequency rank#36,885
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bereft”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).bereftlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “belted” (#36,884), “bezel” (#36,886), “belcher” (#36,883). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bereft” is #36,885. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around bereft (IPA /bəˈɹɛft/), averb. Corpus frequency is #36,885 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of bereave".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for bereft, with forms such as "bbereft", "beerft", and "berefft". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "Bert", "brett", "Brent", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bireft, v. Middle English bireven. Synchronically a form of bereaved; compare leave and left. The correct English form is bereft, spelled B-E-R-E-F-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of bereave

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bereft appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. bereft of strength
  2. bereft of gorm

Etymology

From Middle English bireft, v. Middle English bireven. Synchronically a form of bereaved; compare leave and left.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbereft
  • beerft
  • berefft
  • bereftt
  • beretf
  • berfet
  • berreft
  • breeft
  • ebreft

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bereft - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbereft1beerft2berefft1bereftt1beretf2berfet2berreft1breeft2
Edit distance from "bereft"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bereft"?
"bereft" is spelled B-E-R-E-F-T. The IPA pronunciation is /bəˈɹɛft/.
What does "bereft" mean?
As a verb, "bereft" means: simple past and past participle of bereave
What words are commonly confused with "bereft"?
"bereft" is commonly confused with "Bert", "brett", "Brent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bereft"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bereft" is /bəˈɹɛft/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bereft"?
From Middle English bireft, v. Middle English bireven. Synchronically a form of bereaved; compare leave and left. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bereft", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

belted#36,884Bhutto#36,887beaker#36,882Asgard#36,877

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

bobcat9 variantsArvind9 variantsargent9 variantscandor9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list