Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To take something away from.
  • transitive verb To keep from possessing or enjoying; deny.
  • transitive verb To remove from office.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To take away; end; injure or destroy.
  • To divest; strip; bereave: as, to deprive one of pain, of sight, of property, of children, etc.
  • To divest of office; degrade. See deprivation, 3.
  • To hinder from possessing or enjoying; debar; withhold.
  • Synonyms To dispossess, strip, rob, despoil.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To take away; to put an end; to destroy.
  • transitive verb To dispossess; to bereave; to divest; to hinder from possessing; to debar; to shut out from; -- with a remoter object, usually preceded by of.
  • transitive verb To divest of office; to depose; to dispossess of dignity, especially ecclesiastical.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To take something away (and keep it away); deny someone of something.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb take away possessions from someone
  • verb keep from having, keeping, or obtaining
  • verb take away

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English depriven, from Old French depriver, from Medieval Latin dēprīvāre : Latin dē-, de- + Latin prīvāre, to rob (from prīvus, alone, without; see per in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin deprivare, from de- + privare

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Examples

  • I. iv.73 (183,1) deprive your sovereignty] I believe _deprive_ in this place signifies simply to _take away_.

    Notes to Shakespeare, Volume III: The Tragedies Samuel Johnson 1746

  • She therefore, casting a look towards Orlando, much less sweet than those she had favored him with towards the beginning of the evening, assented with a smirk to the proposal of his brother – and immediately joined the dancers; while Orlando, trembling lest some new interruption should again deprive him of the sight of Monimia, hastened to find Selina, to whom he beckoned, and whispered to her to come around another way, where he would meet her, that their going out together might not be remarked.

    The Old Manor House 1793

  • The editors of the Promptorium thought it necessary at times to give a brief explanation of the English word to be translated; thus the Latin translation of the word deprive is preceded by the explanation "put awey a thyng or taken awey ffrom anoder."

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XX No 1 1991

  • Thats why I told Joe I would no longer spend time with him if it meant he had to "deprive" himself of, or seek permission from Erin.

    waterdiluted Diary Entry waterdiluted 2006

  • Certain special hygienic conditions, -- such as deprive the patient of those surroundings which are essential to the preservaion of his system in its normal status.

    An Epitome of Practical Surgery, for Field and Hospital. 1863

  • Nawar said ElBaradei called for the boycott to "deprive" President Hosni Mubarak's regime of legitimacy.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2010

  • How does Mr. Boehner saying that he will vote for middle class tax cuts "deprive" anyone of any argument?

    msnbc.com: Politics 2010

  • How does Mr. Boehner saying that he will vote for middle class tax cuts "deprive" anyone of any argument?

    msnbc.com: Politics 2010

  • Nawar says ElBaradei called for the boycott to "deprive" President Hosni Mubarak's regime of legitimacy.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2010

  • Nawar said ElBaradei called for the boycott to "deprive" President Hosni Mubarak's regime of legitimacy.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2010

Comments

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  • But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 1 Corinthians 9:15

    April 8, 2011