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
Gehry bequeathed blueprints and models, sketches and concepts, for his large and devoted team of younger architects and next-generation visionaries equipped to fabricate our way out of angst.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 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
It takes time for newly-elected presidents to assemble their cabinet, cue up a legislative program, address the problems — or coast on the economic health — bequeathed them by their predecessors.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2025
Anna Brown, divorced and without children, had bequeathed nearly all her wealth to her mother, Lizzie.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
