Link Centre Dictionary

divest

di·vest

UK/daɪˈvɛst/ US/dɪˈvɛst/ uncommon archaic

verb

1.

take away possessions from someone

  • “The Nazis stripped the Jews of all their assets”
Synonyms
2.

deprive of status or authority

  • “he was divested of his rights and his title”
  • “They disinvested themselves of their rights”
Synonyms
Antonyms
3.

reduce or dispose of; cease to hold (an investment)

  • “The company decided to divest”
  • “the board of trustees divested $20 million in real estate property”
  • “There was pressure on the univeristy to disinvest in South Africa”
Synonyms
Antonyms
4.

remove (someone''s or one''s own) clothes

  • “The nurse quickly undressed the accident victim”
  • “She divested herself of her outdoor clothes”
  • “He disinvested himself of his garments”
Synonyms

Origin

Alteration of devest, from Middle French devester (“strip of possessions”), from Old French desvestir, from des- (“dis-”) + vestir (“to clothe”).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.