deracinate

[dih-ras-uh-neyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deracinate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), de·rac·i·nat·ed, de·rac·i·nat·ing.

to pull up by the roots; uproot; extirpate; eradicate.

to isolate or alienate (a person) from a native or customary culture or environment.

Nearby words

Origin of deracinate

1590–1600; < French déracin(er) (equivalent to dé- dis-¹ + -raciner, verbal derivative of racine root < Late Latin rādīcīna for Latin rādīc-, stem of rādīx) + -ate¹

Related formsde·rac·i·na·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deracinate

You cannot deracinate that wide-rooted dogma within your soul that more money means more joy.
The Human Machine|E. Arnold Bennett
No one by taking thought, can deracinate the mental habits of, say, twenty years.
Journalism for Women|E.A. Bennett
To deracinate Lowell was impossible, and it was for this very reason that he became so serviceable an international personage.
Modern American Prose Selections|Various
Och, and the girls whose poor hearts you deracinate, Whirl and bewilder and flutter and fascinate!
The Book of Humorous Verse|Various

British Dictionary definitions for deracinate

deracinate

verb (tr)

to pull up by or as if by the roots; uproot; extirpate

to remove, as from a natural environment

Derived Formsderacination, noun

Word Origin for deracinate

C16: from Old French desraciner, from des- dis- 1 + racine root, from Late Latin rādīcīna a little root, from Latin rādīx a root

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for deracinate

deracinate

1590s, "to pluck up by the roots," from French déraciner, from Old French desraciner "uproot, dig out, pull up by the roots," from des- (see dis-) + racine "root," from Late Latin radicina, diminutive of Latin radix (see radish). Related: Deracinated.