bereft

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The Word of the Day for April 30 is: 

bereft   \bih-REFT\   adjective
     1 : deprived or robbed of the possession or use of something 
    *2 : lacking something needed, wanted, or expected 
     3 : bereaved 

Example sentence:
     "With Emilia gone, I am bereft of all hope and joy," lamented William.

Did you know?
     In Old English, the verb "bereafian" meant "to plunder or rob." The modern 
equivalent (and descendant) of "bereafian" is "bereave," a verb that implies 
that you have robbed or stripped someone of something, often suddenly and 
unexpectedly (and sometimes by force). "Bereft" comes from the past participle 
of "bereave," and it sometimes still functions as a participle, as in 
Shakespeare's _The Merchant of Venice_, where Bassanio tells Portia, "Madam, 
you have bereft me of all words." But by Shakespeare's day "bereft" was also 
being used as an adjective, as the Bard himself used it in _The Taming of the 
Shrew_ when a newly obedient and docile Katharina declares, "A woman mov'd is 
like a fountain troubled -- muddy, ... thick, bereft of beauty."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.