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Synonyms

disrobe

American  
[dis-rohb] / dɪsˈroʊb /

verb (used with or without object)

disrobed, disrobing
  1. to undress.


disrobe British  
/ dɪsˈrəʊb /

verb

  1. to remove the clothing of (a person) or (of a person) to undress

  2. (tr) to divest of authority, etc

"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

Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of disrobe

1575–85; dis- 1 + robe; compare Middle French desrober


Explanation

When you disrobe, you take your clothes off. Before you go swimming, you should probably disrobe and put on a bathing suit. Everyone disrobes, before we take a shower, change our clothes, or go skinny dipping. To disrobe is simply to get undressed. You might disrobe in a dressing room to try on a tuxedo or disrobe before your karate class so you can put on your white karate gi. The word uses the prefix dis-, "do the opposite of," before robe, with its old fashioned verb sense of "clothe."

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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.

See Examples For:

“The fact that I have to prove I don’t have tattoos on my upper body, disrobe, quite frankly is a little humiliating,” Rhambo told The Times on Thursday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2021

If you find the skins difficult to remove, drop the fruit in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, plunge in an ice bath and then they should be more easy to disrobe.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2021

Monsignor Charles Portelli, who was the cathedral's master of ceremonies in the 1990s, testified that he was always with Pell after Mass to help him disrobe in the sacristy.

From Fox News ● Feb. 26, 2019

Later, a curt attendee comes to lead her down a drab, darkened hall, ushers her into a room, locks the door, and asks Sawyer to empty her bag, hand over her phone and disrobe.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 21, 2018

I soon found it necessary myself to disrobe, as far as my handcuffs permitted, and even then the perspiration was most profuse.

From Capturing a Locomotive A History of Secrect Service in the Late War. by William Pittenger

Sue Tilley was 35 years old and working in a London employment office when she disrobed and let British artist Lucian Freud paint her in the nude.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

As his teammates around him disrobed and walked to the showers, Herbert sat in front of his locker and stared at the ground.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2023

Cameras are likely to pan away as they did when Queen Elizabeth was disrobed of her cloak and jewellery during her televised coronation in 1953.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2023

He headed western U.S. congregations but was disrobed in a church trial last year after officials concluded he had mishandled funds.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2022

But this is precisely what he did not do; he refrained: he disrobed himself of his divinity and bore himself as a mere man like others.

From Epistle Sermons, Vol. II Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost by John Nicholas Lenker

But the disrobing has other benefits: A thick, sour miasma of pig excrement engulfs me as I make my way inside, and I’m glad I’ve left my clothes behind.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 7, 2023

She delivered again, face stripped of makeup and disrobing from her couture to wear a simple black t-shirt and ripped jeans to perform "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun."

From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2023

If the animal is wearing a coat or sweater, the officer may subject the pet to a pat-down, but disrobing the animal is not necessary.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 24, 2023

The leaving behind not just of my language but of my sense — however meager — of belonging was a divesting, a disrobing: It was both freedom and exposure.

From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2022

He felt that even in speaking in that way he would be indicating how hopeless he felt, thereby disrobing his soul to more shame.

From "Native Son" by Richard Wright

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