Dispossess - Meaning, Definition & English Examples
To dispossess means to deprive someone of land, property, or other possessions, often by force or legal means. It implies taking away what someone owns or controls.
Definition:
To deprive someone of land, property, or other possessions.
Synonyms:
evict, expropriate, oust, divest
Part of Speech:
verb
Antonyms:
provide, endow, restore
Common Collocations:
dispossess tenants, dispossess landowners, dispossess the poor
Derivatives:
dispossession, dispossessed
Usage Tips:
Use "dispossess" when describing legal or forceful removal of property or rights from someone.
Common Phrases:
dispossessed masses, legally dispossess, forcibly dispossess
Etymology:
From Old French "despossesser," meaning to deprive of possession (des- "away" + possesser "to possess").
Examples:
- 1. The government may dispossess landowners for public projects.
- 2. Many were dispossessed during the war and lost their homes.
- 3. The court ruled to dispossess the tenant for unpaid rent.
- 4. Colonizers often dispossessed indigenous peoples of their ancestral lands.