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.
Frieda bequeathed it to the University of New Mexico, and the D.H.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Mr. Rein implores us to override the divisive reflexes evolution has bequeathed us.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 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
The bronze sculpture had been bequeathed to Bryanston in 1975 by a former governor, but its provenance had been forgotten, until now.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025
Frances and her husband took him in for a while, until his maternal grandfather died and bequeathed Charles enough money to pay for college.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
