Contextualizebeta

divest

verb
/daɪˈvɛst/UK

Etymology

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

  1. derived from desvestir
  2. derived from devester

Definitions

  1. To strip, deprive, or dispossess (someone) of something (such as a right, passion,…

    To strip, deprive, or dispossess (someone) of something (such as a right, passion, privilege, or prejudice).

    • You shall never divest me of my right to free speech.
    • When I wake up, I make a point to divest myself of all my prejudices, ready to start the day.

  2. To sell off or be rid of through sale, especially of a subsidiary.

    • In 2011, the company divested an 81% majority stake in its foreign subsidiary.
    • Glasgow will become the first university in Europe to divest from fossil fuels.

  3. To undress.

    • Having divested the child he kissed her gently and gave her a little pat to make her stand off.

The neighborhood

Derived

divestable, divester, divestible, divestitive, divestiture, divestive, divestment, divestor, undivested

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for divest. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA