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deracinate

[ dih-ras-uh-neyt ]
/ dɪˈræs əˌneɪt /
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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.

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WATCH NOW: Deracinate: Visual Word of the Day

The word deracinate can be used in a few different ways. Deracinate typically is seen in a negative light because to be grounded is to be stable and to be de-rooted is scary. But, sometimes, this word can be turned into a positive experience.

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Origin of deracinate

First recorded in 1590–1600; from French déracin(er), equivalent to dé- + -raciner, verbal derivative of racine “root,” from Late Latin rādīcīna for Latin rādīc-, stem of rādīx + -ate; see origin at dis-1, root1, -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM deracinate

de·rac·i·na·tion, noun

Words nearby deracinate

deputy minister, deputy sheriff, de Quervain's disease, De Quincey, der., deracinate, deradicalize, deraign, derail, derailleur, derailment
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Content related to deracinate

Deracinate: Visual Word of the DayThe word deracinate can be used in different ways. It typically is seen in a negative light because to be de-rooted is scary.
READ MORE

Words related to deracinate

wipe out, annihilate, exterminate, displace, demolish, overthrow, overturn, eradicate, expunge, stamp out, abolish, erase, eliminate, uproot, extinguish, weed out, abate, move, remove, extirpate

Example sentences from the Web for deracinate

  • Och, and the girls whose poor hearts you deracinate, Whirl and bewilder and flutter and fascinate!

    The Book of Humorous Verse|Various

  • No one by taking thought, can deracinate the mental habits of, say, twenty years.

    Journalism for Women|E.A. Bennett

  • You cannot deracinate that wide-rooted dogma within your soul that more money means more joy.

    The Human Machine|E. Arnold 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

British Dictionary definitions for deracinate

deracinate
/ (dɪˈræsɪˌneɪt) /

verb (tr)

to pull up by or as if by the roots; uproot; extirpate
to remove, as from a natural environment

Derived forms of deracinate

deracination, 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
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