deprive
Americanverb (used with object)
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deprives,
present (3rd person singular)
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deprived,
past participle, past
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depriving
present participle
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to remove or withhold something from the enjoyment or possession of (a person or persons).
to deprive a man of life; to deprive a baby of candy.
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to remove from ecclesiastical office.
verb
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(foll by of) to prevent from possessing or enjoying; dispossess (of)
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archaic to remove from rank or office; depose; demote
Synonym Usage
See strip 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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deprivalnoun
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deprivernoun
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predepriveverb (used with object)
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deprivableadjective
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deprivativeadjective
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nondeprivableadjective
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self-deprivingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deprivesimple
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deprivessimple
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have deprivedperfect
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has deprivedperfect
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am deprivingprogressive
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are deprivingprogressive
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is deprivingprogressive
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have been deprivingperfect progressive
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has been deprivingperfect progressive
Past
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deprivedsimple
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had deprivedperfect
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was deprivingprogressive
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were deprivingprogressive
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had been deprivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of deprive
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English depriven, from Anglo-French, Old French depriver, from Medieval Latin dēprīvāre, equivalent to Latin dē- de- + prīvāre “to deprive” ( prīv(us) private + -āre infinitive suffix)
Explanation
Deprive means to keep from having. If your little brother gets loud and hyper every time he eats sweets, your parents might deprive him of sugary cereal and candy. Deprive can also mean to take away something that someone already had, or feels they deserve to have, like basic human rights. "A crowd gathered to protest the man's imprisonment for a crime he did not commit; they didn't want to allow the government to deprive him of his freedom." The word comes from the Latin, de", which means "entirely," and privare, which means "release from." Put together, they mean to "entirely release from." In this case, the imprisoned man's freedom is being "entirely released," or taken away, and he'll no longer have it.
Vocabulary lists containing deprive
The Declaration of Independence
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Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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Freak the Mighty
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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.
See Examples For:
Lamberth said the Bureau of Prisons’ new regulation would “arbitrarily deprive inmates of medications and other lifestyle accommodations that its own medical staff have deemed to be medically appropriate.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
What did we need him for when we could just buy the Bitcoin ourselves and deprive him of the arbitrage?
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
To deprive oneself of this film because of Mizrahi’s views would be to deny utter exhilaration.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
But he otherwise stuck to his determination to deprive markets of “forward guidance” on future rate moves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Together, Kenyon and Nancy had made a paint-splattered attempt to deprive the basement room of its unremovable dourness, and neither was aware of failure.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
This particularly deprives eastern parts of the country of rainfall and sees a later start to the northern wet season -- though less chance of tropical cyclones.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Perhaps that’s Zhao’s point, that loss deprives us of the people we once were.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2025
A heart attack deprives heart muscle cells of oxygen and nutrients, causing many of them to die.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2025
Ghosting is uncanny not only because it deprives us of certain codified social rituals for disentangling our relationships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Anything that deprives them of their sport will also reach out and affect a large number of economic interests.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
The findings suggested that cells deprived of Mitch were changing how they distributed and used these lipids, drawing on some of their available fatty resources to support increased energy consumption.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
A federal judge ruled for Asian parents and said their students had been deprived of a “level playing field” in competing for admission.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
He said this restriction "led to the disruption of a number of missions" and deprived Ukraine of its ability to fight Russian jet-powered drones.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
In deprived areas, particularly former industrial centers like Liverpool, a significant number of residents depend on welfare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
From her training, Marti knew that this might be an old KGB trick—keeping foreigners in Moscow off balance, sleep deprived, and aware of being watched.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Habba apparently hasn’t yet collected her fee, and this revelation may just end up depriving her of most of it.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Credit Agricole, which holds 29.3 percent in Banco BPM, said Thursday that it would not back MPS's proposal, depriving the latter of crucial support.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Perhaps due to a paucity of sources, Mr. Mancall dispenses quickly with events before 1450, depriving readers of a deep look at indigenous life before the arrival of Europeans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
So he stood down, depriving the internet of a highlight reel that would have made him famous.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Mr. Sir was no longer depriving him of water.
From "Holes" by Louis Sachar
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