disencumber
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disencumber
1590–1600; < Middle French desencombrer, equivalent to des- dis- 1 + encombrer to encumber
Explanation
To free someone from a burden or difficult situation is to disencumber them. You might try to disencumber yourself from the responsibility of walking the dog by bribing your sister to do it. Want to make your life less complicated or otherwise free yourself from some obstacle? You need to disencumber yourself. Things from which people disencumber themselves tend to be obligations, guilt, relationships, and other complexities of life. Disencumber comes from the verb encumber and its Latin source combrus, "barricade or obstacle."
Vocabulary lists containing disencumber
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.
Yang’s resignation from the boards of Alibaba and Yahoo Japan should disencumber negotiations around a potential deal for those assets, a positive for the stock.
From Forbes • Jan. 18, 2012
The treasure that remained was more than sufficient to disencumber his estates, and to restore them to the flourishing condition of olden times.
From Holidays at the Grange or A Week's Delight Games and Stories for Parlor and Fireside by Higgins, Emily Mayer
In this lonely den, Nathan and Roland began straightway to disencumber themselves of arms and provisions, seeming well satisfied with its convenience.
From Nick of the Woods by Bird, Robert M.
Do you, Bogle, disencumber your study as fast as you can of these absurd busts of the older dramatists, now fit for nothing but targets in a shooting-gallery.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845 by Various
Ere he could disencumber it I pressed forward upon the landing.
From The Bright Face of Danger Being an Account of Some Adventures of Henri de Launay, Son of the Sieur de la Tournoire by Stephens, Robert Neilson
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.
