divest Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb take away possessions from someone
    deprive; strip.
    • The Nazis stripped the Jews of all their assets
  2. verb deprive of status or authority
    disinvest.
    • he was divested of his rights and his title
    • They disinvested themselves of their rights
  3. verb reduce or dispose of; cease to hold (an investment)
    disinvest.
    • The company decided to divest
    • the board of trustees divested $20 million in real estate property
    • There was pressure on the university to disinvest in South Africa
  4. verb remove (someone's or one's own) clothes
    disinvest; undress; strip.
    • The nurse quickly undressed the accident victim
    • She divested herself of her outdoor clothes
    • He disinvested himself of his garments

WordNet

Di*vest" transitive verb
Etymology
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.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Divested; present participle & verbal noun Divesting
Definitions
  1. To unclothe; to strip, as of clothes, arms, or equipage; -- opposed to invest.
  2. Fig.: 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. (Law) See Devest. Mozley & W.

Webster 1913