dispossess
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to put (a person) out of possession, especially of real property; oust.
-
to banish.
-
to abandon ownership of (a building), especially as a bad investment.
Landlords have dispossessed many old tenement buildings.
verb
Related Words
See strip 1.
Other Word Forms
- dispossession noun
- dispossessor noun
- dispossessory adjective
Etymology
Origin of dispossess
First recorded in 1425–75; dis- 1 + possess; replacing Middle English disposseden, equivalent to dis- 1 + posseden (from Old French posseder ), from Latin possidēre; possess
Explanation
When you take something away from someone, especially land or property, you dispossess them of it. Your parents might dispossess you of the tent you pitched in the yard to set up the grill for their upcoming cookout. At the heart of dispossess is the verb possess, which you may think of as meaning "to own," but which also means "to occupy" or "to hold as real estate." When people are deprived of their property or possessions, they are dispossessed. In fact, the verb dispossess is sometimes used in place of the more direct evict. If a homeowner misses too many mortgage payments, the bank may dispossess them, forcing them to move out.
Vocabulary lists containing dispossess
Twelfth Night
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Beowulf
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"Bonne Année" by Jean-Pierre Benoît
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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.
"Hold On to Me" from Cyprus traces the efforts of an 11-year-old tracking down her estranged father, while documentary "Kikuyu Land" from Kenya examines how powerful outside forces use local corruption to dispossess a people.
From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026
They were visualizing that they would just dispossess them.
From Slate • Feb. 5, 2024
Vela’s faint effort to dispossess León of the ball was in vain.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2023
Not all alleged witches were poor and landless, however, and sometimes hunts served to dispossess them.
From Scientific American • May 31, 2023
He hears the young knocking at the door and he fears that the young will enter in and dispossess him.
From Revisiting the Earth by Hill, James Langdon
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.
