dispossessed 1 of 2

Definition of dispossessednext

dispossessed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of dispossess
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of 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
For me, the flashback is suggestive but not conclusive — maybe Arthur’s genuinely confused about the identity of the man in his house, or maybe this is his chance at revenge against the white men who have continually dispossessed his family and his people. Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025 Like Dunbar’s speakers, Hughes’s dispossessed have no way out, and the poem implicitly refutes optimism regarding the Great Migration and racial progress. Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dispossessed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispossessed
Adjective
  • The advisory highlighted other barriers to rolling out Community Notes outside the US, including translation issues or how many countries will still lack full internet connectivity in rural or deprived areas, which could lead to biased notes.
    Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Cardiac arrest leads to collapse within seconds, whereas a heart attack typically causes progressive damage as the deprived heart tissue begins to die.
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • His older brother, King Charles, stripped him of his titles and evicted him from Royal Lodge after all.
    Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Social workers estimated that nearly 100,000 Parisian Jews had been evicted from their apartments during the war.
    Shannon Fogg, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • After nearly a decade in service, the nonprofit has grown to serve 250,000 meals a month — 3 million meals a year — to more than 100 child care centers in disadvantaged communities throughout the Philadelphia region.
    Mike Spatocco, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Admitting underprepared students, especially those already disadvantaged, harms them.
    David Blobaum, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Cities like Chicago — long a haven for Mexican immigrants with ties to families and a community — became landing spots for migrants from increasingly impoverished and authoritarian places such as Venezuela.
    Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
  • And because of their status, undocumented students are also more likely to come from impoverished backgrounds, says Caitlin Patler, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley.
    Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Lamar Odom's foundation raised more than $2 million In 2004, Odom founded his charity, Cathy’s Kids, as a tribute to his late mother, with the goal of supporting cancer research and underprivileged youth.
    Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Prince spent years using his platform to advocate for others by fighting for artists’ rights, the Black Lives Matter movement and underprivileged youth.
    Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Doak and the Immigration and Naturalization Service have been sharply criticized, especially by social workers who came into contact with families left destitute because their breadwinners had been deported, often for technical irregularities that were not their fault but the government’s.
    Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
  • None of this is to suggest that Van Der Beek was anything like destitute.
    Benjamin Svetkey, HollywoodReporter, 21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Young comedians, usually out of insecurity, tend to be in a needy rush to move to the next punch line during their act.
    Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
  • What should talent-needy Tennessee do?
    Dianna Russini, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Matthew Farwell has been declared indigent, and taxpayers are paying for his defense.
    Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The Justice Department has quietly gutted a more than 60-year-old program created to ensure that low-income and indigent immigrants can receive competent and affordable legal representation, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell CBS News.
    Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Dispossessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispossessed. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.

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