disinherit

B2 Topic:Law & Government
US /ˌdɪsɪnˈhɛrɪt/ UK /ˌdɪsɪnˈhɛrɪt/
verb Freq #48790

Meanings

  1. 1
    verb

    to prevent someone from receiving property or money that they would otherwise inherit, especially by changing a will

    The landowner threatened to disinherit any heir who sold the estate.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 verb · to prevent someone from... cut offexclude from inheritancedisown
Opposites
endowbequeath toname as heir
Word family
Forms disinherited
Derived forms disinheritancedisinheritor

Etymology

From Middle English disenheriten, formed from dis-, expressing removal or deprivation, + inherit. The legal sense is literal: to remove a person's expected right to inherit, usually through a will. It can imply disowning, but the core meaning concerns succession to property.

Topics

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