- past tense form of dispossess.
- past participle of dispossess.
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.
“Hip-hop has become the global language of resistance — the musical form through which the dispossessed and disenfranchised articulate grievance and assert dignity,” Singh said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
The Kemalists initially bestowed upon Abdulmejid the largely symbolic title of caliph after they dispossessed his cousin of ruling power in 1922.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
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
This is because, through the experiences of dispossessed patients, the world’s conflicts fall sharply into focus.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2024
After all, they were needy and hungry and despised and dispossessed, and sinners the world over were in the driver’s seat.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
