bequeathed
Americanadjective
-
(of personal property or money) disposed of by a person’s final will.
The college has received a bequeathed gift of $1 million from one of its alumni.
-
handed down or passed on.
The more conservative council members see traditional values as the bequeathed virtues of a preferred past.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bequeathed
First recorded in 1615–25; bequeath ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; bequeath ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
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.
Monkhouse bequeathed his joke book collection to his writing partner in his will.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
But many who served in the front lines maintained their revolutionary zeal, becoming more determined to sustain the regime Khomeini bequeathed to them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026
The ascent of Benson Boone, with his mustache and his backflips, suggests that Jackman may yet find inheritors to carry on the tradition he himself was bequeathed by Diamond and the rest.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2025
The Mount Shasta Trail Assn., which was bequeathed hundreds of thousands of dollars from an anonymous donor who wanted to see access to the falls, tried for years to negotiate with the railroad, Harch said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2025
Before he died he handed over his pocket-book to me, and bequeathed me his boots—the same that he once inherited from Kemmerich.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
