divest means to strip, deprive, or dispossess (someone) of something (such as a right, passion, privilege, or prejudice). It carries an Arena rating of 1716, earned across 65 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, divest ranks #130 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #682 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #724 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,200 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
divest is pronounced /daɪˈvɛst/.
Why “divest” is a great word
DIVEST — [Verb] To strip or deprive someone or something of a possession, attribute, or right, or to sell off assets or holdings. From the alteration of 'devest', from Middle French 'devester' ("to strip of possessions"), from Old French 'desvestir', from 'des-' ("dis-") + 'vestir' ("to clothe"), ultimately from Latin 'vestis' ("clothing, garment"). Unlike "deprive," which suggests a general taking of essentials, or "sell," which denotes a neutral transaction, to divest is to enact a formal, strategic unclothing. It is a corporation methodically shedding its arms holdings, a monarch being relieved of crown and scepter by writ of parliament, or an activist consciously emptying a portfolio of fossil-fuel stocks—a deliberate shedding of what once defined the whole, a return to a state of chosen or enforced nakedness.
Etymology
Alteration of devest, from Middle French devester (“strip of possessions”), from Old French desvestir, from des- (“dis-”) + vestir (“to clothe”).
verb
- To strip, deprive, or dispossess (someone) of something (such as a right, passion, privilege, or prejudice).e.g.“You shall never divest me of my right to free speech.”
- To sell off or be rid of through sale, especially of a subsidiary.e.g.“In 2011, the company divested an 81% majority stake in its foreign subsidiary.”
- To undress.e.g.“Having divested the child he kissed her gently and gave her a little pat to make her stand off.” — 1897, Henry James, What Maisie Knew:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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