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divest.

Verb
Literary
MEANING

1. To deprive someone or something of a possession, right, or attribute.

2. To dispose of financial holdings or business assets.

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Words that belong together

  • divest of authority

On the page

The council divested him of authority.
The ruling divested the office of its privileges.

Related words

Word forms
Base
divest
Past tense
divested
Past participle
divested
Present participle
divesting
Full tense & aspect guide
Present
divest
Present continuous
am/is/are divesting
Present perfect
have/has divested
Present perfect continuous
have/has been divesting
Past
divested
Past continuous
was/were divesting
Past perfect
had divested
Past perfect continuous
had been divesting
Future
will divest
Future continuous
will be divesting
Future perfect
will have divested
Future perfect continuous
will have been divesting

Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.

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Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: divest; divests; divested; divested; divesting Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: divests.

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