verb
dispossess
dis-puh-ZESS/ˌdɪspəˈzes/
To take a person's land, property, or home away.
The new law allows officials to dispossess families of their land.
Etymology
The prefix reverses having and holding: to dispossess people is to put them out of possession. The older emphasis on occupancy helps explain the word's close connection with losing land or a home.
In context
sometimes the quarrel Between Two Princes is to decide which of them shall dispossess a third of his dominions where neither of them pretend to any right
More examples
- The tenants fear that the landlord will dispossess them.
- Armed groups have dispossessed villagers of their farms.
- The lawsuit accuses the company of dispossessing longtime homeowners.
Forms
dispossess · dispossesses · dispossessed · dispossessing
dispossession noun — The act of depriving someone of property.