What term describes sorrow following the death of a loved one?

The term that specifically describes the state of sorrow following the death of a loved one is bereavement. Bereavement encompasses the period during which a person experiences grief and sorrow after losing someone close to them. It formally refers to the condition of having lost someone through death and includes not only the emotional response but also the various societal and cultural practices surrounding that loss.

While mourning refers to the outward expression of grief, such as rituals or behaviors that show one's sorrow, and grieving denotes the internal process of dealing with loss (which can encompass various emotional responses), bereavement focuses on the state of having lost someone, thus making it the most precise term for this context. Despair, meanwhile, refers to a state of complete loss of hope, which is broader and not limited to the experience of loss through death.