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Antonyms for divest

Grammar : Verb
Spell : dih-vest, dahy-
Phonetic Transcription : dɪˈvɛst, daɪ-

Definition of divest

Origin :
  • 1560s, devest (modern spelling is c.1600), from Middle French devester "strip of possessions," from Old French desvestir, from des- "away" (see dis-) + vestir "to clothe" (see vest (v.)).
  • The figurative sense of "strip of possessions" is earliest in English; reflexive sense of "to strip oneself of" is from c.1600. Economic sense (implied in divestment) is from 1955. Related: Divested; divesting.
  • verb dispossess; take off
Example sentences :
  • No, no, he could not divest himself of that gown which clung so tightly to his flesh.
  • Extract from : « The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete » by Emile Zola
  • It is difficult to divest the mind of facts with which it is most familiar.
  • Extract from : « The Truth About Woman » by C. Gasquoine Hartley
  • He was in a hurry to divest himself of everything recalling the peasant.
  • Extract from : « The Fortune of the Rougons » by Emile Zola
  • Our proclivity to details cannot quite degrade our life and divest it of poetry.
  • Extract from : « Essays, Second Series » by Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • She will have to divest herself of all her "Kilgobbinries" ere I present her to my friends in town.'
  • Extract from : « Lord Kilgobbin » by Charles Lever
  • I then proceeded to divest myself of my articles of clothing.
  • Extract from : « The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol 2 (of 2) » by Harry Furniss
  • What a mischievous alteration in spelling is divest instead of devest.
  • Extract from : « English Past and Present » by Richard Chevenix Trench
  • Much more, who will undertake to divest him of things which he never had?
  • Extract from : « Bertha and Her Baptism » by Nehemiah Adams
  • "I would I could divest you of the idea and the money too," said Robinson.
  • Extract from : « The Struggles of Brown, Jones, and Robinson » by Anthony Trollope
  • English to the backbone, he could not divest himself of a sense of guilt.
  • Extract from : « Saint's Progress » by John Galsworthy

Synonyms for divest

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019