reave

[ reev ]

/ riv /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: reave / reft on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), reaved or reft, reav·ing.Archaic.

to take away by or as by force; plunder; rob.

QUIZ

IS THIS EIGHTH GRADE VOCAB QUIZ FEASIBLE FOR YOU?

Prove that nothing is amiss with your vocabulary skills by taking this quiz on popular eighth grade vocabulary.

Question 1 of 10

What does the word “confiscate” mean?

to praise or celebrate

to gather together

to seize by or as if by authority; appropriate summarily

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of reave

before 900; Middle English reven,Old English rēafian; cognate with German rauben,Dutch roven to rob

Words nearby reave

reast, reattribute, Réaum., Réaumur, Réaumur scale, reave, reawaken, reb, rebab, rebadge, rebar

Other definitions for reave (2 of 2)

reave²

[ reev ]

/ riv /

verb (used with or without object), reaved or reft, reav·ing.

Archaic. to rend; break; tear.

Origin of reave

1175–1225; Middle English; apparently special use of reave¹ (by association with rive)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use reave in a sentence

I am doing what I can to reave the heavens of these monsters.
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 7 (of 12)|Robert G. Ingersoll
But they try to reave from God, His part, who would be praised of men for good deeds.
The Form of Perfect Living and Other Prose Treatises|Richard Rolle of Hampole
Not forty Van Hupfeldts nor a legion of ghosts should reave him of those telling pieces of evidence!
The Late Tenant|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for reave (1 of 2)

reave¹

/ (riːv) /

verb reaves, reaving, reaved or reft (rɛft) archaic

to carry off (property, prisoners, etc) by force

(tr foll by of) to deprive; stripSee also reive

Word Origin for reave

Old English reāfian; related to Old High German roubōn to rob, Old Norse raufa to break open

British Dictionary definitions for reave (2 of 2)

reave²

/ (riːv) /

verb reaves, reaving, reaved or reft (rɛft)

archaic to break or tear (something) apart; cleave

Word Origin for reave

C13 reven, probably from reave 1 and influenced in meaning by rive

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