as in deprived
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as in evicted
to end the occupancy or possession of
opponents of gentrification claim that the process unfairly dispossesses poorer residents of their long-established homes
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Recent Examples of dispossessed
Audrey Clare Farley, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022
And when Israel gained its independence in 1948, Zionism became the world’s first successful Indigenous movement of a dispossessed and colonized people regaining sovereignty in their Indigenous homeland.
—Micha Danzig, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Dec. 2021
CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
The growth of colonial Australian society came at the expense of the Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who were often dispossessed of their land, exposed to foreign diseases, and either pushed into marginal areas or forcibly assimilated into European culture.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dispossessed
Adjective
Without the voices of the dispossessed, how can there be deconstruction?
—Audrey Clare Farley, The New Republic, 3 Jan. 2022
And when Israel gained its independence in 1948, Zionism became the world’s first successful Indigenous movement of a dispossessed and colonized people regaining sovereignty in their Indigenous homeland.
—Micha Danzig, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Dec. 2021
Verb
Calling his father and uncle gusanos — or worms, a Spanish-language term coined by Castro to denigrate those fleeing the island — the agent seized the bank and, in an instant, dispossessed a family that arrived from Spain in the 16th century.
—CBS News, 22 Apr. 2026
The growth of colonial Australian society came at the expense of the Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who were often dispossessed of their land, exposed to foreign diseases, and either pushed into marginal areas or forcibly assimilated into European culture.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dispossessed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispossessed
Adjective
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The alliance jointly fought the 2024 general election and deprived Modi of an outright majority, forcing him to rely on the support of regional parties to form a coalition government.—
Shilpa Jamkhandikar,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
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My sister, Louise, taught art at a secondary school within one of the city’s most deprived housing schemes.—
Douglas Stuart,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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She was evicted from one after only one payment was made on her behalf and racked up another bill of more than $50,000 at another due to nonpayment.—
Sean Joseph OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
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Andrew reportedly retained the corgis after he was stripped of his royal titles and evicted from Royal Lodge, his longtime home, in October 2025.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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This was doubly true for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who hoped to use their educational credentials to catapult themselves up the class ladder.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
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Last year, research by King’s College London and Ipsos found that Gen Z men in 30 nations were far more likely than male Baby Boomers to say that the fight for women’s equality had gone so far that men were now disadvantaged.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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The play’s focus is resolutely on the impoverished rural family of women who fall under this ambitious bluesman’s influence in the rural Georgia of the 1930s, writes Chris Jones.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
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This model is much less appealing to the impoverished governments, which sometimes struggle to pay their own troops.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
10 May 2026
Adjective
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Weeks later, Nelson recalls organizing a backyard block party on Syracuse’s South Side, handing out school supplies to underprivileged children who might otherwise go without them.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
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The term refers to a steepening deviation between upper and lower economic classes, popularized after the Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately hit underprivileged groups.—
Stephanie Yang,
CNN Money,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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As the truly destitute are not likely to receive such invitations, this petty thievery is simply an abuse of hospitality and an insult to those who have offered it.—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
12 May 2026
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However, families without insurance could easily be left destitute by an illness or an accident.—
Jemma Stephenson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
Adjective
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The backstory The original estate goes back to 1912, when the Tudor-style mansion was built for Walter Ladd and his heiress wife, socialite/philanthropist Kate Macy Ladd, who soon opened a convalescent facility on the estate for sick and needy women.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
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Perhaps that scenario would raise Richardson’s trade value and allow him to be shipped to a suddenly quarterback-needy team.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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The organization analyzed actuarial figures from the Social Security Administration and found that as many as 400,000 poor and disabled people and indigent older people could have their support cut or eliminated.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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All told, as many as 400,000 poor and disabled people and indigent older people across the United States could have their support cut or eliminated, according to a ProPublica analysis of actuarial figures from the Social Security Administration.—
Eli Hager,
ProPublica,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dispossessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispossessed. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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