dispossessed
dispossessed Lexical Profile
dispossessed Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Deprived of land, property, housing, or other rightful possessions.
"The charity provides legal aid and temporary shelter to dispossessed families in the region."
• noun
People who have been deprived of their land, homes, property, or social and economic rights (usually preceded by 'the' and treated as plural).
"Her documentary chronicles the struggles of the dispossessed in rapidly gentrifying cities."
Word Nuance & Usage
When used as a noun, 'dispossessed' is a nominalized adjective that almost always requires the definite article ('the dispossessed') and takes a plural verb to refer collectively to people who have been deprived of their land, homes, or rights.
• Rhymes for dispossessed
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in late Middle English as the past participle of 'dispossess', borrowed from Old French 'despossesser', from 'des-' (expressing reversal or deprivation) and 'possesser' (to possess).