dispossess
verb
dis·pos·sess
ˌdis-pə-ˈzes 
also -ˈses
dispossessed; dispossessing; dispossesses
: to put out of possession or occupancy
dispossessed the nobles of their land
Examples of dispossess in a Sentence
The land was settled by dispossessing the native people who lived here.
opponents of gentrification claim that the process unfairly dispossesses poorer residents of their long-established homes
Recent Examples on the Web
Minteh only won two of his nine ground duels and bled possession a lot, and still could have scored when there was a Brighton breakaway at the end of the first half after Diego Gomez dispossessed Adam Wharton at the second phase of a Palace corner.
—
Liam Tharme, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
But in the next 30 years, the people who will bear the brunt of that catastrophe—who will be dispossessed, uprooted, and exposed to the worst of the elements—will be those who are already on the other side of society’s walls.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
For me, the flashback is suggestive but not conclusive — maybe Arthur’s genuinely confused about the identity of the man in his house, or maybe this is his chance at revenge against the white men who have continually dispossessed his family and his people.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Like Dunbar’s speakers, Hughes’s dispossessed have no way out, and the poem implicitly refutes optimism regarding the Great Migration and racial progress.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
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Liam Tharme, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
But in the next 30 years, the people who will bear the brunt of that catastrophe—who will be dispossessed, uprooted, and exposed to the worst of the elements—will be those who are already on the other side of society’s walls.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
For me, the flashback is suggestive but not conclusive — maybe Arthur’s genuinely confused about the identity of the man in his house, or maybe this is his chance at revenge against the white men who have continually dispossessed his family and his people.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Like Dunbar’s speakers, Hughes’s dispossessed have no way out, and the poem implicitly refutes optimism regarding the Great Migration and racial progress.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dispossess
Cite this Entry
“Dispossess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dispossess. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dispossess
verb
dis·pos·sess
ˌdis-pə-ˈzes
: to take away the possession of or the right to occupy land or houses
Legal Definition
dispossess
transitive verb
dis·pos·sess
ˌdis-pə-ˈzes
: to put out of possession or occupancy compare evict
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