divest

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /daɪˈvɛst/ UK /daɪˈvɛst/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to deprive or rid of something; to sell off assets or holdings

The fund chose to divest its shares in the coal company.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to deprive or rid of... strip deprive dispossessunclotherid relinquish sell

Opposites

invest clothe endow acquire retain

Word family

Derived forms divestmentdivestituredivesture

Related forms vest invest investiture vestment

Etymology

From earlier 'devest', from Old French desvestir ('to undress'), from Latin disvestire, from dis- ('away') + vestire ('to clothe'), from vestis ('garment').

desvestir Old French vestire Latin vestis Latin *wes- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# divest

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /daɪˈvɛst/
**IPA (UK):** /daɪˈvɛst/

## Meanings
1. to deprive or rid of something; to sell off assets or holdings

## Examples
- The fund chose to divest its shares in the coal company.

## Synonyms
- strip
- deprive
- dispossess
- unclothe
- rid
- relinquish
- sell

## Antonyms
- invest
- clothe
- endow
- acquire
- retain

## Derived Forms
- divestment
- divestiture
- divesture

## Related Forms
- vest
- invest
- investiture
- vestment

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: desvestir
- Root: vestire
- Root: vestis
- Root: *wes-

## Etymology
From earlier 'devest', from Old French desvestir ('to undress'), from Latin disvestire, from dis- ('away') + vestire ('to clothe'), from vestis ('garment').

## AI Etymology
Divest is from earlier 'devest', from Old French desvestir ('to undress'), from Latin disvestire, from dis- ('away') + vestire ('to clothe'), from vestis ('garment'). Important recorded forms include desvestir (Old French), vestire (Latin), vestis (Latin), and *wes- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to deprive or rid of something; to sell off assets or holdings. The wider family includes derived forms such as divestment, divestiture, and divesture and related words such as vest, invest, investiture, and vestment.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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