reave

[ reev ]

/ riv /

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See synonyms for: reft on Thesaurus.com

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

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

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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