Dispossess

verb

verb ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To deprive someone of the possession of land, especially by evicting them.
  2. 2
    deprive of the possession of real estate wordnet
  3. 3
    To deprive someone of possession in general.

    "Though Mars himſelfe the angry God of armes, And all the earthly Potentates conſpire, To diſpoſſeſſe me of this Diadem: Yet wil I weare it in deſpight of them As great commander of this Eaſtearne world, […]"

  4. 4
    To take possession of the ball/puck etc. (from someone).

    "It was Bannan who released Agbonlahor for his goal with a long-range curling pass after Stephen Warnock had dispossessed Mohamed Diame."

Synonyms

All synonyms
bereaveboot outbouncecut offdeprivedisendow

Example

More examples

"You don't need to dispossess the Palestinians to be a Jew."

Etymology

From Middle English [Term?], from Middle French despossesser. Equivalent to dis- + possess.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.