dispossessed
Americanadjective
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evicted, as from a dwelling, land, etc.; ousted.
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without property, status, etc., as wandering or displaced persons; rootless; disfranchised.
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having suffered the loss of expectations, prospects, relationships, etc.; disinherited; disaffiliated; alienated.
The modern city dweller may feel spiritually dispossessed.
Etymology
Origin of dispossessed
First recorded in 1590–1600; dispossess + -ed 2
Explanation
Someone who's dispossessed has had something important, like their home or their sense of safety and security, taken away from them. Most people who are described as dispossessed have lost their possessions, the things that belonged to them. This usually includes essential things including a place to live, a homeland, or basic rights. The word possess, or "own," is at the heart of this adjective, from a Latin root meaning "to have and hold," or "to control." Taking away someone's property, or their ability to control their own life, leaves them dispossessed.
Vocabulary lists containing dispossessed
"Bonne Annee," Vocabulary from the personal essay
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It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime
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Vocabulary from Readings, Unit 3
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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.
With six minutes of regular time remaining, he dispossessed an opponent, surged forward and coolly fired the ball into the net.
From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026
Goldblatt’s pictures from before these events are touristic and from afterward elegiac; particularly moving are his portraits of the dispossessed, showing their bitterness and their dignity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Swede Elanga dispossessed Fulham defender Ryan Sessegnon before feeding Osula out on the right.
From BBC • Oct. 25, 2025
He has spent a decade organizing among the poor and dispossessed, including with the Kairos Center and the Poor People’s Campaign.
From Salon • Jul. 21, 2025
What he did, on a small scale, showed me how important it is to empower the dispossessed and the disenfranchised in the wake of oppression.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
