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:
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
If we only define people with dementia based on their deficits, we become demoralized and give in to pessimistic attitudes that inevitably deprive them of dignity and hope.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
A proud moment for those associated with the club, but it did deprive key players of the mid-season breather they normally would have had.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
He committed the United States to vanquishing the dictators who would deprive others of their freedom.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
His death also deprives Trump of one of his most trusted allies on Capitol Hill.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Cleage gives the women plenty of substance, though her novelistic mode — more telling than showing — deprives her drama of style.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 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
Above ground it is a low-slung angular wisp of an object, whose cladding in mirrored steel deprives it of any sense of form or substance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2025
Anything that deprives them of their sport will also reach out and affect a large number of economic interests.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Wall Street is afraid it will be deprived of trading opportunities and transaction fees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
But he complained of the extra expense and being "deprived of the current technology".
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
A spokesperson for Daera said the court directed that the defendant be deprived of the ownership of all farmed animals and ordered their destruction.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Unified letter shows that the school board was laying the legal groundwork to dismiss Carvalho for cause, which would have deprived him of contractual severance payments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
She also noted that she and the other suffragists had been deprived of letters, books, visitors, and decent food.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
“If the intent was not financial gain by depriving others, then it’s almost certainly not illegal — although not everything that is a big problem is illegal,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 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
They suffer from elevated nutrient levels, which can lead to the growth of algae, depriving fish and other aquatic life of oxygen.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Some analysts estimate a blockade that lasts four to five months could reduce Iran’s oil revenues to close to zero, depriving the regime of its main source of hard currency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
In confrontation, a wizard should trick the Kappa into bowing—if it does so, the water in the hollow of its head will run out, depriving it of all its strength.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
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.
