Dispossess
(verb)
- To force (someone) to leave a property or place they own or occupy, especially illegally.
- To take possession of (property) from someone.
Origin:
Late middle english: from old french desposesser, from latin dispossidere, from dis- (expressing reversal) + possidere 'possess'. the verb was originally used in english law to describe the legal action of recovery of lands or tenements.
Examples:
- The government has promised to dispossess the wealthy landowners of their vast estates.
- The new law would dispossess the residents of their homes to make way for the construction of a new highway.
- The company's ruthless business practices have led to the dispossession of many small farmers.
- The dictator's regime dispossessed the citizens of their rights and freedoms.
- The family was dispossessed of their ancestral home when they were forced to flee the country.