Synonyms

dispossess

American

[dis-puh-zes] / ˌdɪs pəˈzɛs /

verb (used with object)

to put (a person) out of possession, especially of real property; oust.
to banish.
to abandon ownership of (a building), especially as a bad investment.

Landlords have dispossessed many old tenement buildings.

dispossess British

/ ˌdɪspəˈzɛs /

verb

(tr) to take away possession of something, esp property; expel

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See strip ¹.

Other Word Forms

dispossession noun
dispossessor noun
dispossessory adjective

Etymology

Origin of dispossess

First recorded in 1425–75; dis- ¹ + possess; replacing Middle English disposseden, equivalent to dis- ¹ + posseden (from Old French posseder ), from Latin possidēre; possess

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Goldblatt’s pictures from before these events are touristic and from afterward elegiac; particularly moving are his portraits of the dispossessed, showing their bitterness and their dignity.

From The Wall Street Journal

He believes that those at the heart of the protests were the "dispossessed".

From BBC

He has spent a decade organizing among the poor and dispossessed, including with the Kairos Center and the Poor People’s Campaign.

From Salon

But he was unique among the Democrats in speaking directly to the disaffected and dispossessed middle class.

From Los Angeles Times

He posted on X: "The Holy Father dedicated his life to serving the poor and dispossessed. "

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023