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
- unbequeathed adjective
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.
The world they bequeathed to us was immeasurably better than the world they'd inherited from their parents.
From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026
He points out in a note that profit growth of 1% relative to the average of the prior two quarters was lower than the 1.7% benefit bequeathed by the period’s 1.5 extra days.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025
“We maintain ourselves in existence,” he says, “through a style bequeathed to us by our Rilkean memories.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 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
And what, then, will be the inheritance bequeathed by Bobby?
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
