Divest

Definition: Divest

Divest

Verb

1. Take away possessions from someone; "The Nazis stripped the Jews of all their assets".

2. Deprive of status or authority.

3. Take away one's investment.

Date "divest" was first used: 1563. (references)

Note: Divest \Di*vest"\, transitive verb. [imperative past participle Divested; present participle verb or noun Divesting.]. (Websters 1913)

Synonyms: Divest

Synonyms: deprive (v), strip (v). (additional references)

Antonym: invest (v). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Abrogation	Disclaim; (deny); ignore, repudiate; recant; divest oneself, break off.
Divestment	Verb: divest; uncover; (cover; ); denude, bare, strip; disfurnish; undress, disrobe; (dress, enrobe; ); uncoif; dismantle; put off, take off, cast off; doff; peel, pare, decorticate, excoriate, skin, scalp, flay; expose, lay open; exfoliate, molt, mew; cast the skin.
Relinquishment	Rid oneself of, disburden oneself of, divest oneself of, dispossess oneself of; wash one's hands of.
Taking	Oust; (eject); divest; levy, distrain, confiscate; sequester, sequestrate; accroach; usurp; despoil, strip, fleece, shear, displume, impoverish, eat out of house and home; drain, drain to the dregs; gut, dry, exhaust, swallow up; absorb; (suck in); draw off; suck the blood of, suck like a leech.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain	Title
Books	Decision to Divest IV: The First Review 1985-1987 (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Title	Author	Quote
Les Miserables	Hugo, Victor	The first law of safety is to divest yourself of every kind of burden.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Civil Liberties	Nepal	This debate has put pressure, which successive governments so far have resisted, to open the airwaves and divest government-controlled printing operations. (references)
	Sri Lanka	Despite earlier campaign promises to divest itself of its media holdings, the Government controls the country's largest newspaper chain, two major television stations, and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC, a radio station). (references)
Economic History	Morocco	Morocco's privatization program allows the government to divest itself of state-owned entities. (references)
Political Economy	PHILIPPINES	With the exception of foreign-controlled firms that export 100 percent of production, foreign firms that seek incentives from the Board of Investments must commit to divest to 40 percent ownership within 30 years or such longer period as the BOI may allow. (references)
	EGYPT	There is no clear timeline for the government's oft-postponed plans to privatize a public sector bank, but in 2001 the government announced a plan to divest state-owned shares of joint venture banks before proceeding with the privatization of a public bank. (references)
Trade	Ukraine	This activity also helps enterprises restructure and divest idle assets. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Divest" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 67.92% of the time. "Divest" is used about 53 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	67.92%	36	57,479
Lexical Verb (base form)	32.08%	17	85,106
Total	100.00%	53	N/A

Expressions using "divest": divest of ♦ divest oneself ♦ divest oneself of ♦ divest smb. of. Additional references.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "divest"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		zhvesh (bare, defoliate, denude, disarray, dismantle, disrobe, doff, Hull, lay off, remove, scutch, shed, strip, strip naked, unclothe, undress), shkarkoj (debark, disburden, discharge, disembark, dismiss, exonerate, free, land, offload, relegate, set free, unburden, unlade, unload), i marr (denude, detract, reave, reive), i heq pushtetin, i heq (deprive, detract, disappoint, displume, dispossess, reave, reive), heq (abate, abolish, avert, bereave, blow, call off, cast, clear away, clear out, cross, cut off, cut out, deduct, delete, derogate, detach, detrude, dislodge, dismiss, dismount, do away with, doff, drag, draw, drop, eject, eliminate, erase, exhaust, expel, exscind, extract, gather in, generate, get off, jump, keep off, kill, lift, lift off, move off, off with, omit, oust, peel back, pick off, pull at, pull off, pull out, put aside, put off, relegate, remove, save, scour, scratch, scratch off, scratch out, shake out, shed, skim, skip, soothe, spay, strike off, strip, subtract, swing, take away, take off, take out, tear away, throw out, turn away, undergo, unhang, unhook, unpin, unstring). (various references)

Arabic		‏حرم (abridge, ban, be bereaved, be forbidden, bereave, contraband, debar, deny, deprive, disable, dispossess, excommunicate, forbade, forbid, geld, interdict, inviolable, outlaw, prohibit, proscribe, restrain, rob, sacred, sanctuary, starve, suppress, wife), ‏سلب (bereave, depredation, desiccation, despoil, dispossess, dispossession, evisceration, flay, fleece, harrow, loot, looting, maraud, milk, pillage, piracy, plunder, plundering, raid, ransack, rape, rapine, ravish, ravishment, rejoice, riffle, rifle, rob, robbery, sack, skin, spoil, spoliation, steal, stick up, strip), ‏عرى (denudation, denude, dismantle, strip, unclothe, uncover, undress), ‏جرد (denude, deprive, dispossess, empty, inventory, oust, riffle, shear, stocking, strip, sucker, unclothe). (various references)

Bulgarian		събличам (disarray, disrobe, doff, pull off, remove, strip, take off, throw off, unclothe, undress, unrobe), смъквам (bring down, let down, pull down, rip away, rip off, shuffle off, tear down, tear off, throw off), отнемам (denude, deprive, detract, evict, overreach, revoke, take, take away). (various references)

Chinese		剥除 (Divested, Divesting). (various references)

Czech		zbavit (acquit, avoid, deliver, deprive, release, relieve, rid). (various references)

Dutch		belangen afstoten (divest oneself of certain (financial) interests, shed certain interests (e.g. holdings)), aan zijn eigen regeling het overheidskarakter ontnemen (to divest its own legislation of its sovereign character). (various references)

Farsi		محروم کردن (Bereave, Deprive, Devest, Disappoint, Dispossess, Evacuate, Exclude, Geld), عاری کردن (Devest), بی بهره کردن (Deprive, Dispossess). (various references)

French		dévêtir, dépouiller (discover, dispoil, dispossess), priver (dispossess). (various references)

German		entblößen (bare, denude, draw, expose, reveal, to bare, to denude, to divest, uncover, unsheathe). (various references)

Greek		εκδύω (disrobe, strip, unclothe, undress, unfrock), απεκδύω (strip, undress, unrobe), αφαιρώ (ablate, abstract, deduct, defrost, delete, detract, dismount, dispossess, eliminate, remove, remove from, strip, subduct, subtract, take away, write off). (various references)

Hebrew		לשלול מן (deprive), ל�"וקיע (belie, denounce, disclose, show up), ל�"פשיט (strip, unclothe, undress). (various references)

Hungarian		megfoszt (deprive, disbranch, to bereave, to curtail, to depose, to despoil, to dispossess, to dispossess sy of sg, to divest, to incapacitate, to ungod). (various references)

Indonesian		membebaskan (absolve, acquit, acquitted, emancipate, enfranchise, free, set free). (various references)

Italian		spogliare (bereave, deprive, deprive oneself, fleece, Rob, shear, strip, unclothe, undress). (various references)

Korean		박탈하십시�" (Deprive). (various references)

Manx		lhomey (draw, draw as sword, emergence, lead, show up, stripping, sweep, uncover). (various references)

Pig Latin		ivestday

Portuguese		despojar (bereave, denudate, denude, deplenish, deprive, despoil, oust, strip, unclothe), despir (beggar, denudate, disarray, disrobe, doff, put off, remove, strip, unclothe, undress, unlace, unrobe), livrar (disburden, discharge, dispossess, free, let go, rescue, rid, save, set free, to free). (various references)

Romanian		dezgoli (bare, denude, Harry, naked, nude, rip, strip, uncover), dezbrãca de, despuia de, priva de (bereave of, debar from, deprive smb. of smth., disrobe, strip, widow of). (various references)

Russian		лишать (abridge, bereave, debar from, denude, deprive, mulct, reave, reive). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		svući (disrobe, drag down, unrobe), skinuti (decorticate, do away, doff, get down, pull off, remove, shed, skim, strip, take down, take off, throw off, unfix, unhang, vail), lišiti (abridge, cut off, deny, deprave, deprive, free, rid, rob, strip). (various references)

Spanish		desposeer (dispossess). (various references)

Swedish		klä av (denude, dismantle, disrobe, undress), frånta, beröva (bereave, denude, deprive, deprive of, despoil). (various references)

Thai		ปล�"เปลื้อง. (various references)

Turkish		soymak (bare, bark, burglarize, burgle, clean out, decorticate, denude, deplume, despoil, disrobe, flay, fleece, heist, hold up, housebreak, knock off, pare, Peel, pluck, plunder, pull off, rifle, rip off, Rob, roll, sack, shave, shear, skin, stick up, strip, unclothe, undress, unrobe), mahrum etmek (abridge, con smb. out of, debar, debar from, deny, deprive, detain, dispossess, divest smb. of, lose, mulct, oust, shear, spoil, starve, stint), görevden almak (depose, deprive, discharge, dismiss, remove, unseat), çıkarmak (bare, belch, blank, bring out, bruit about, deduct, delete, derive, disconnect, dislocate, dislodge, dismantle, displace, doff, draw off, draw out, drive out, drop, educe, eject, elicit, eliminate, emit, enact, enucleate, evolve, exclude, excogitate, excrete, exhale, exhaust, expel, expunge, extract, extricate, extrude, exude, foot, foot up, give forth, give off, haul up, hawk, issue, let out, make out, omit, order off, order out, oust, out, pay off, present, print out, provoke, publish, pull off, put off, put out, put up, reject, remove, rest, rout out, rout up, rule out, scratch, shoot out, slip off, spew forth, spew out, spew up, spit, start, stick out, strike, strike off, strike through, strip, strip off, subtract, take, take from, take off, take out, throw off, throw out, tide over, touch off, uncase, unfix, vent, void, vomit, winkle out, wipe out, wipe up, work out, wreak). (various references)

Ukrainian		роздягати (disarray, dismantle, disrobe, strip, unclothe, undress), відкидати (abnegate, baffle, balk, brush away, cast aside, cast away, deny, disapprove, discard, doff, forswear, jettison, negate, negative, non-concur, override, overturn, push back, rebut, reject, reprobate, repudiate, set aside, throw aside, throw away, toss aside, turn down, wave aside, wave away), позбавляти (abridge, bare, denude, deprive, despoil, oust, purge, reave, release). (various references)

Welsh		diosg (put off, strip, undress), ymddihatru (undress). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Middle French	1400-1600	devester. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "divest": divested, divesting, divestiture, divestitures, divestment, divestments, divests. (additional references)
	Words containing "divest": postdivestiture. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Divest" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: davast, Davset, dayest, delvest, devent, Devesi, devet, didest, Dienst, diest, dievs, divets, divisa, divits, divs, divsest, divus, divvent, dovesse, givest, idest, livest. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "divest" (pronounced dīve"st or dive"st)
4	-v e" s t	invest, reinvest, vest.
3	-e" s t	abreast, acquiesced, addressed, arrest, assessed, attest, behest, bequest, best, blessed, blest, breast, Celeste, chest, coalesced, compressed, confessed, congest, crest, depressed, detest, digest, digressed, dispossessed, distressed, dressed, expressed, fessed, finessed, gest, guessed, guest, impressed, infest, ingest, jest, lest, messed, molest, nest, northwest, obsessed, oppressed, pest, possessed, pressed, Prest, professed, progressed, quest, rearrest, reassessed, recessed, repossessed, repressed, request, rest, retest, southwest, stressed, suggest, suppressed, test, transgressed, unaddressed, undressed, unimpressed, unrest, West, wrest, zest.
4	-v e" s t	invest, reinvest, vest.
3	-e" s t	abreast, acquiesced, addressed, arrest, assessed, attest, behest, bequest, best, blessed, blest, breast, Celeste, chest, coalesced, compressed, confessed, congest, crest, depressed, detest, digest, digressed, dispossessed, distressed, dressed, expressed, fessed, finessed, gest, guessed, guest, impressed, infest, ingest, jest, lest, messed, molest, nest, northwest, obsessed, oppressed, pest, possessed, pressed, Prest, professed, progressed, quest, rearrest, reassessed, recessed, repossessed, repressed, request, rest, retest, southwest, stressed, suggest, suppressed, test, transgressed, unaddressed, undressed, unimpressed, unrest, West, wrest, zest.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "d-e-i-s-t-v"
	-1 letter: deist, diets, dites, dives, edits, sited, stied, tides, vised.
	-2 letters: devs, dies, diet, dite, dits, dive, edit, ides, side, site, teds, tide, tied, ties, vest, vets, vide, vied, vies, vise.
	-3 letters: dev, die, dis, dit, eds, ids, its, sei, set, sit, ted, tie, tis, vet, vie, vis.
	-4 letters: de, ed, es, et, id, is.
	Words containing the letters "d-e-i-s-t-v"
	+1 letter: datives, diverts, divests, strived, visited, vistaed.
	+2 letters: deviants, deviates, distaves, divested, divinest, invested, postdive, sedative, verdicts, videttes, vividest.
	+3 letters: additives, adjustive, adversity, advertise, auditives, avidities, demivolts, derivates, detersive, devesting, deviators, devotions, digestive, disinvest, disinvite, divagates, diversity, diverters, divesting, donatives, dovetails, duratives, duvetines, estivated, eventides, outdrives, overedits, revisited, salivated, sedatives, seductive, servitude, televised, unvisited, uveitides, validates, vastitude, vaticides, verditers, vesicated, viduities, viewdatas, vitalised.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.