deprive
Americanverb (used with object)
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deprives,
present (3rd person singular)
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deprived,
past participle, past
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depriving
present participle
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to remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of (a person or persons).
to deprive a man of life; to deprive a baby of candy.
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to remove from ecclesiastical office.
verb
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(foll by of) to prevent from possessing or enjoying; dispossess (of)
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archaic to remove from rank or office; depose; demote
Synonym Usage
See strip 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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deprivalnoun
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deprivernoun
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predepriveverb (used with object)
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deprivableadjective
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deprivativeadjective
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nondeprivableadjective
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self-deprivingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deprivesimple
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deprivessimple
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have deprivedperfect
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has deprivedperfect
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am deprivingprogressive
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are deprivingprogressive
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is deprivingprogressive
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have been deprivingperfect progressive
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has been deprivingperfect progressive
Past
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deprivedsimple
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had deprivedperfect
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was deprivingprogressive
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were deprivingprogressive
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had been deprivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deprive
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English depriven, from Anglo-French, Old French depriver, from Medieval Latin dēprīvāre, equivalent to Latin dē- de- + prīvāre “to deprive” ( prīv(us) private + -āre infinitive suffix)
Explanation
Deprive means to keep from having. If your little brother gets loud and hyper every time he eats sweets, your parents might deprive him of sugary cereal and candy. Deprive can also mean to take away something that someone already had, or feels they deserve to have, like basic human rights. "A crowd gathered to protest the man's imprisonment for a crime he did not commit; they didn't want to allow the government to deprive him of his freedom." The word comes from the Latin, de", which means "entirely," and privare, which means "release from." Put together, they mean to "entirely release from." In this case, the imprisoned man's freedom is being "entirely released," or taken away, and he'll no longer have it.
Vocabulary lists containing deprive
The Declaration of Independence
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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Freak the Mighty
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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.
See Examples For:
Butts said the measure would deprive the city of an $8-million annual revenue source.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
What did we need him for when we could just buy the Bitcoin ourselves and deprive him of the arbitrage?
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
So while Murrill’s desire to deprive exonerees of money is terrible, Alexander said, her efforts to prevent them from having their names officially cleared are truly reprehensible.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
The reversal follows criticism from teachers, nutritionists and parents who argued that removing eggs from school lunches could deprive children from poor families a key source of protein.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Milo was not convinced and absolutely refused to deprive Major Major of food, even if Major Major was a Communist, which Milo secretly doubted.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
These disabilities can occur because a stroke deprives parts of the brain of oxygen or causes bleeding that destroys brain cells.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
His death also deprives Trump of one of his most trusted allies on Capitol Hill.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
This particularly deprives eastern parts of the country of rainfall and sees a later start to the northern wet season -- though less chance of tropical cyclones.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Ghosting is uncanny not only because it deprives us of certain codified social rituals for disentangling our relationships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Reacting to the portrait in “a direct, straightforward fashion,” without the benefit of additional knowledge, deprives us of an understanding that is necessary for full appreciation.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment provides that no person may be deprived of “liberty” without due process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
I know the experiences of deaf women being excluded, being deprived of communication, being deprived of help, being deprived of access, being deprived of so many things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Penny Walters works for Feeding Britain which supports some of the most deprived families in the North East.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
The UVM team instead asked what would happen if cancer cells were deprived of one of their most important antioxidant defenses.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The upheavals of the war deprived Kepler of much of his financial support, and the end of his life was spent fitfully, pleading for money and sponsors.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Perhaps due to a paucity of sources, Mr. Mancall dispenses quickly with events before 1450, depriving readers of a deep look at indigenous life before the arrival of Europeans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Outside the Gravelines plant, the largest in Western Europe, the shutdowns or production reductions affecting other reactors are linked to extreme heat and droughts, depriving the plants of the water they need for cooling.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
In 2023, his team reported that depriving colon cancer cells of arginine caused them to accumulate more mutations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
The brothers claim Ledward's "misconduct is causing ongoing harm" to Boseman's elderly parents and depriving them "of financial assets at a vulnerable age when such support is most critical".
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Two cows for a man’s life? Two cows for depriving someone of becoming an ancestor? Is it any wonder his spirit has returned in the form of a leopard?”
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
