divest of
phrasal verb
divested of; divesting of; divests of
formal
1
: to take (something) away from (someone or something else) : to cause (someone or something) to lose or give up (something)
The document does not divest her of her right to use the property.
—often used as (be) divested ofHe was divested of his title/power/dignity.
2
divest (oneself) of (something)
: to sell or give away (possessions, money, etc.)
She divested herself of most of her possessions.
—old-fashioned when used of clothingHe divested himself of his coat.
Examples of divest of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The stories are hard to date, with the action divested of any mention of news or technology.
—
Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025
Last year, the NFL loosened its ownership rules to allow private equity to own as much as 10 percent of a team and by divesting of WME’s football clients, Silver Lake has met the requirements to allow Durban to maintain his ownership stake without running afoul of the league’s ownership rules.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
Last spring, Congress passed and the president signed a law that required TikTok to be divested of its Chinese ownership by January 19, 2025, in order to continue operating in the United States.
—Michael A. Fragoso, National Review, 24 Jan. 2025
Social video app TikTok has gone dark in the United States hours before a law requiring it to divest of its Chinese ownership went into effect today (1/19).
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 19 Jan. 2025
On top of having to divest of Chrome, Google would be banned from launching a new browser or investing in search, ad tech, and AI rivals for five to 10 years.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2024
The moves represent a choice to not come to an agreement with the IAM or consider divesting of any of the valuable units focused on airline services and aftermarket.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
The big picture: This comes as multiple companies have been divesting of assets after a M&A payments bonanza that started in 2019.
—Lucinda Shen, Axios, 30 Sep. 2024
In discussing the hunger to lose an identity, each speaker has already been divested of their own, and the result is a language that sounds closer to the textureless theory-Esperanto of museum wall text.
—Nicholas Dames, The Atlantic, 14 June 2024
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Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025
Last year, the NFL loosened its ownership rules to allow private equity to own as much as 10 percent of a team and by divesting of WME’s football clients, Silver Lake has met the requirements to allow Durban to maintain his ownership stake without running afoul of the league’s ownership rules.
—Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
Last spring, Congress passed and the president signed a law that required TikTok to be divested of its Chinese ownership by January 19, 2025, in order to continue operating in the United States.
—Michael A. Fragoso, National Review, 24 Jan. 2025
Social video app TikTok has gone dark in the United States hours before a law requiring it to divest of its Chinese ownership went into effect today (1/19).
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 19 Jan. 2025
On top of having to divest of Chrome, Google would be banned from launching a new browser or investing in search, ad tech, and AI rivals for five to 10 years.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2024
The moves represent a choice to not come to an agreement with the IAM or consider divesting of any of the valuable units focused on airline services and aftermarket.
—Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
The big picture: This comes as multiple companies have been divesting of assets after a M&A payments bonanza that started in 2019.
—Lucinda Shen, Axios, 30 Sep. 2024
In discussing the hunger to lose an identity, each speaker has already been divested of their own, and the result is a language that sounds closer to the textureless theory-Esperanto of museum wall text.
—Nicholas Dames, The Atlantic, 14 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Divest of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divest%20of. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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