dispossessed 1 of 2

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
Three days after his 10th birthday, his father, a depressed junkman, killed himself, and the experience of misfortune fueled the young artist’s identification with the dispossessed. Peter Saenger, WSJ, 22 Apr. 2022 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 Chilton’s sonorous voice carries with it the perseverance and anguish of the dispossessed, disenfranchised and violated. Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2021 See All Example Sentences for dispossessed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dispossessed
Adjective
  • In the last election, some of the most deprived areas of the country — based on factors like income, housing and health — voted for the Conservative Party for the first time.
    Josh Holder, New York Times, 24 June 2024
  • But what makes Seller’s story sing is his vivid recollection of a deprived childhood with demanding parents, his first job as a booking agent, and his coming out during the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
    Air Mail, Air Mail, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Unable to make rent without his father, Rema and his family were evicted from their apartment.
    Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Prior to his career in government, Rasool, who as a child was evicted from a Cape Town neighborhood for white people, became an anti-Apartheid campaigner.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • At Leesburg High School in Lake County, about three-quarters of the students are economically disadvantaged and chronic absenteeism jumped from just over one-third in 2018-19 to almost 60% last year.
    Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 June 2025
  • Many doctors and dental associations, however, argue that fluoride in water is still a crucial, low-risk/high-reward public health tool, especially for disadvantaged children and adults who may not be able to practice regular dental hygiene.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 June 2025
Adjective
  • In Zimbabwe, the Catholic Church operates about 100 schools, ranging from dozens in impoverished areas where annual tuition is as low as $150 to elite boarding schools that can charge thousands of dollars.
    Rodney Muhumuza, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025
  • Some government functions were eviscerated, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had provided a lifeline for impoverished people around the world.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 31 May 2025
Adjective
  • Chicago’s Building Better Futures Center for the Arts, an organization that offers mental health services and education programs for underprivileged youth, will reportedly reap the benefits of his payout.
    Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
  • This past December, Toren worked with Miami artist Vic Garcia on a toy drive to help underprivileged kids.
    Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • Shirley is cast as a destitute East End woman, shaped by hardship and time spent in psychiatric care, where art became both refuge and revelation.
    Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
  • To many, bringing destitute Vietnamese to American shores seemed nonsensical.
    CBS News, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Should endowment taxes increase, institutions may need to reduce their spending on helping financially needy students be able to attend college.
    Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
  • Those people, Republicans say, are the truly needy.
    Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 18 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Probation Department is examining ways to waive costs for indigent offenders.
    Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 30 May 2025
  • Denying lawyers for the unemployed and evicted In some counties that have invested in public defender offices, indigent defense has been transformed.
    Ilana Panich-Linsman, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Dispossessed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dispossessed. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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