divest

verb

di·​vest dī-ˈvest 

də-

divested; divesting; divests

transitive verb

1

a

: to deprive or dispossess especially of property, authority, or title

divesting assets to raise capital

was divested of his rights

divesting herself of all her worldly possessions

encouraged the university to divest itself from fossil fuels

b

: to undress or strip especially of clothing, ornament, or equipment

Christmas trees divested of their ornaments

c

: rid, free

2

: to take away from a person

divestment

dī-ˈves(t)-mənt 

də-

noun

Did you know?

The vest in divest is a close relation of the kind found in closets—its origin is Latin vestis meaning “clothing, garment.” (Vest has the same source and first appeared in English as a verb in the 15th century meaning “to put on garments or vestments.”) Divest today mostly appears in legal and business contexts about a formal removal or loss of something of value; assets that are divested are sold or given away; someone divested of a right officially loses that right. The word’s first late 16th century use, however, was more intimately related to its roots: divest was then used to mean “to undress or strip especially of clothing, ornament, or equipment.” But broader application of divest soon followed. In Shakespeare’s Henry V, the French King Charles is told via messenger that England’s King Henry “wills you, in the name of God Almighty, / That you divest yourself, and lay apart / ... the crown / And all wide-stretched honours that pertain ...”

Synonyms

• dispossess
• expropriate
• oust

Example Sentences

The company is divesting 8 of its 20 stores.

We may have to divest assets to raise capital.

Recent Examples on the Web

American Airlines and US Airways agreed to similar concessions before they were allowed to merge, and JetBlue has already indicated plans to divest assets at some airports. —Joe Mazur, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2023

Heineken said such hurdles had delayed its efforts to divest. —Liz Alderman, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2023

In recent years, universities, foundations and public pension funds across the country have announced plans to divest from oil, gas and coal companies in response to the growing threat of climate change. —Dallas News, 2 May 2022

At the same time, multinational corporations headquartered in the West, such as BP, Coca-Cola, and Visa, abandoned their Russian operations or announced intentions to divest from their longstanding Russian investments. —Adam Strauss, Forbes, 30 Apr. 2022

Public pension plans in several states have faced pressure to divest stakes in firearms companies. —Bob Christie, ajc, 18 Feb. 2022

But Fink’s letter also drew fire from climate advocates, who accused the BlackRock CEO of shirking his own pledge to divest from polluting industries. —Eamon Barrett, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2022

That understanding of customer behavior could be disrupted if Google were required to divest or break up its third-party ad business, ad industry executives said. —Sam Schechner, WSJ, 1 Nov. 2022

In other cases, American firms were required to divest themselves of a sensitive product or technology before the transaction could go through. —David E. Sanger, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2022

See More

Word History

Etymology

alteration of devest

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing divest

• divest of
• divest (oneself) of (something)

• divest of
• divest (oneself) of (something)

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

divest

verb

di·​vest dī-ˈvest 

də-

: to take something off or away from

divested myself of my heavy backpack

Legal Definition

divest

transitive verb

di·​vest dī-ˈvest, də- 

: to deprive or dispossess (oneself) of property through divestiture

divestment noun

Etymology

Anglo-French devestir, literally, to undress, from Old French desvestir, from de(s)-, prefix marking reversal + vestir to dress, from Latin vestire