uproot

[uhp-root, -root]

verb (used with object)

1. to pull out by or as if by the roots: root.

   The hurricane uprooted many trees and telephone poles.

2. to remove violently or tear away from a native place or environment.

   The industrial revolution uprooted large segments of the rural population.

3. to destroy or eradicate as if by pulling out roots: root.

   The conquerors uprooted many of the Native traditions.

   Synonyms: remove, eliminate, banish, extirpate

4. to displace, as from a home or country; tear away, as from customs or a way of life.

   to uproot a people.

verb (used without object)

1. to become uprooted.

uproot

/ ʌpˈruːt /

verb

1. to pull up by or as if by the roots

2. to displace (a person or persons) from native or habitual surroundings

3. to remove or destroy utterly

Other Word Forms

• uprootedness noun
• uprooter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of uproot¹

First recorded in 1610–20; up- + root ²

Example Sentences

Some employers are trying to bring workers together without alienating or uprooting them.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The move will mean Trismik’s team of one Brit, one Italian and one Finn will have to uproot their lives in Europe.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

One by one, the anchors holding people in place - home, community, family - have been loosened by the constant uprooting of Gaza's population and the razing of its neighbourhoods and streets.

Read more on BBC

More had settled elsewhere and didn’t want to uproot themselves again, she said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

People who were in the path of the deadly wall of water that swept down the mountainside stood little chance as it washed away a bridge, uprooted trees and submerged vehicles.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• annihilate 
• demolish 
• displace 
• eradicate 
• exterminate 
• overthrow 
• overturn 
• wipe out