deprive

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verb de·prive \di-ˈprīv\

Definition of deprive

deprived

;

depriving

transitive verb
1 obsolete : remove 'tis honor to deprive dishonored life — Shakespeare
2 : to take something away from deprived him of his professorship — J. M. Phalen the risk of injury when the brain is deprived of oxygen
3 : to remove from office the Archbishop … would be deprived and sent to the Tower — Edith Sitwell
4 : to withhold something from deprived a citizen of her rights

See deprive defined for English-language learners

See deprive defined for kids

Examples of deprive in a Sentence

working those long hours was depriving him of his sleep
one of scores of bishops who had been deprived after the anticlericals came to power

Recent Examples of deprive from the Web

The report notes research showing that second jobs can lead to stress and burnout, and Ferguson wrote that allowing unreported second jobs could deprive the department of a tool for spotting red flags that could suggest corruption.

— hal dardick, chicagotribune.com, "City watchdog offers Emanuel cost-saving ideas as dozens of union contracts to expire", 31 May 2017
The justices have agreed to consider whether Wisconsin’s State Assembly map violates the 14th amendment’s equal protection clause because it was drawn to neutralize the votes of Democrats, depriving them of representation.

— associated press, Washington Post, "Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials", 31 May 2017
Main Events used to promote Pernell Whitaker, who was deprived of deserved victories against Jose Luis Ramirez and Julio Cesar Chavez.

— dylan hernandez, latimes.com, "Sergey Kovalev wants to take his rematch with Andre Ward out of the hands of the judges", 30 May 2017
The problem began with a long stretch of warm weather over the winter, which deprived the trees of chill hours.

— kim severson, New York Times, "The South Faces a Summer With Fewer Peaches", 30 May 2017
Indians deprived of first and second, one out in ninth inning because plate umpire CB Bucknor made terrible third-strike call on Edwin Encarnacion in 3-2 count.

— dennis manoloff, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Indians 2017: Week 8 brought particularly bad losses (DMan ranks 1-162)", 29 May 2017
He was subsequently found guilty of draft evasion and deprived of his boxing titles.

— allen pierleoni, sacbee, "‘Ali was like Colin Kaepernick times 10.’ New book updates boxing legend’s legacy", 26 May 2017
An undefeated foe threatened to deprive him of the chance.

— dennis lin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Padres' Dinelson Lamet tantalizes in major league debut, victory over Mets", 25 May 2017
Their findings: one in ten Americans are chronically sleep-deprived.

— brandon keim, WIRED, "Sleep Drug Makers Say Americans Need More Sleep", 4 Mar. 2008

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deprive'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of deprive

Middle English depriven, from Anglo-French depriver, from Medieval Latin deprivare, from Latin de- + privare to deprive — more at private

First Known Use: 14th century

DEPRIVE Defined for Kids

deprive

play

verb de·prive \di-ˈprīv\

Definition of deprive for Students

deprived

;

depriving

: to take something away from or keep from having something Mr. Sir was no longer depriving him of water. — Louis Sachar, Holes

Medical Dictionary

deprive

play

transitive verb de·prive \di-ˈprīv\

Medical Definition of deprive

deprived

;

depriving

: to take something away from and especially something that is usually considered essential for mental or physical well-being a child deprived of emotional support tissue deprived of oxygen

Law Dictionary

deprive

transitive verb de·prive

Legal Definition of deprive

deprived

depriving

: to take away or withhold something from no person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law — U.S. Constitution amend. V