divest
[dih-vest, dahy-]
- to strip of clothing, ornament, etc.: The wind divested the trees of their leaves.
- to strip or deprive (someone or something), especially of property or rights; dispossess.
- to rid of or free from: He divested himself of all responsibility for the decision.
- Law. to take away or alienate (property, rights, etc.).
- Commerce.
- to sell off: to divest holdings.
- to rid of through sale: The corporation divested itself of its subsidiaries.
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Origin of divest
Synonyms
See more synonyms for divest on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for divest
Contemporary Examples
Waters has become a regular of the various campaigns to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel.
The Presbyterians decided to divest in 2004, and the reaction from establishment Jewish organizations was swift.
They put all their weight into defeating the proposal to divest--and they won, but by a measly two votes.
Their first goal would be to force the university endowments to divest themselves of shares in these banks.
And a movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel is gaining force around the world.
Historical Examples
No, no, he could not divest himself of that gown which clung so tightly to his flesh.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
It is difficult to divest the mind of facts with which it is most familiar.
The Truth About WomanC. Gasquoine Hartley
He was in a hurry to divest himself of everything recalling the peasant.
The Fortune of the RougonsEmile Zola
Our proclivity to details cannot quite degrade our life and divest it of poetry.
Essays, Second SeriesRalph Waldo Emerson
She will have to divest herself of all her "Kilgobbinries" ere I present her to my friends in town.'
Lord KilgobbinCharles Lever
divest
- to strip (of clothes)to divest oneself of one's coat
- to deprive or dispossess
- property law to take away an estate or interest in property vested (in a person)
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Word Origin
C17: changed from earlier devest
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
Word Origin and History for divest
v.
1560s, devest (modern spelling is c.1600), from Middle French devester "strip of possessions," from Old French desvestir, from des- "away" (see dis-) + vestir "to clothe" (see vest (v.)).
The figurative sense of "strip of possessions" is earliest in English; reflexive sense of "to strip oneself of" is from c.1600. Economic sense (implied in divestment) is from 1955. Related: Divested; divesting.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper