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Definition of Divest
1. Verb. Take away possessions from someone. "They divest him of all his money"; "The Nazis stripped the Jews of all their assets"
Specialized synonyms: Disarm, Unarm, Expropriate, Clean, Dispossess, Clean Out, Unclothe, Unsex, Orphan, Bereave
Generic synonyms: Take
Derivative terms: Deprivation, Deprivation, Divestiture
2. Verb. Deprive of status or authority. "They disinvested themselves of their rights"
Specialized synonyms: Dethrone, Defrock, Unfrock
Generic synonyms: Discharge, Free
Antonyms: Invest
3. Verb. Reduce or dispose of; cease to hold (an investment). "There was pressure on the university to disinvest in South Africa"
Generic synonyms: Draw, Draw Off, Take Out, Withdraw
Derivative terms: Disinvestment, Divestiture
Antonyms: Invest
4. Verb. Remove (someone's or one's own) clothes. "They want to divest the prisoners "; "He disinvested himself of his garments"
Related verbs: Discase, Disrobe, Peel, Strip, Strip Down, Uncase, Unclothe, Undress
Generic synonyms: Remove, Take, Take Away, Withdraw
Derivative terms: Strip, Undress
Definition of Divest
1. v. t. To unclothe; to strip, as of clothes, arms, or equipage; -- opposed to invest.
Definition of Divest
1. Verb. (transitive archaic) To undress, disrobe. ¹
2. Verb. (transitive) To strip, deprive, or dispossess (someone) (term of) something (such as a right, passion, privilege, or prejudice). ¹
3. Verb. (transitive) To sell off or be rid of through sale, especially of a subsidiary ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Divest
1. to strip or deprive of anything [v -ED, -ING, -S]
Medical Definition of Divest
1. 1. To unclothe; to strip, as of clothes, arms, or equipage; opposed to invest. 2. To strip; to deprive; to dispossess; as, to divest one of his rights or privileges; to divest one's self of prejudices, passions, etc. "Wretches divested of every moral feeling." (Goldsmith) "The tendency of the language to divest itself of its gutturals." (Earle) 3. See Devest. Origin: LL. Divestire (di- = dis- + L. Vestire to dress), equiv. To L. Devestire. It is the same word as devest, but the latter is rarely used except as a technical term in law. See Devest, Vest. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Divest
Literary usage of Divest
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. A new dictionary of the English language by Charles Richardson (1839)
"To lop off, to strip deprive or divest of the branches ; ie tha' which bends, turns,
... To strip off, to divest of, the bourgeons, ie buds or young shoots. ..."
2. A Treatise on the Law of Property in Intellectual Productions in Great by Eaton Sylvester Drone (1879)
"This question cannot arise in England, because the statute of that country does
not provide for such extension.3 Author may divest Himself and Family of ..."
3. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1910)
"If it was her property, the mere possession and use of the horse afterwards by
her husband did not divest or even impair her title, no more than such a ..."
4. Elements of International Law by Henry Wheaton (1866)
"... would be held, in the prize courts of the captor's country, to divest his
original right iu case of a subsequent recapture.183 [I83 Rescue by Neutrals. ..."
5. Recollections of the Table-talk of Samuel Rogers: To which is Added Porsoniana by Samuel Rogers, William Maltby (1856)
"None of us has any reason to slander Homer or Julius Caesar; but we find it very
difficult to divest ourselves of prejudices when we are writing about ..."
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