From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Divest \Di*vest"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Divested}; p. pr. & vb.
n. {Divesting}.] [LL. divestire (di- = dis- + L. vestire to
dress), equiv. to L. devestire. It is the same word as
devest, but the latter is rarely used except as a technical
term in law. See {Devest}, {Vest}.]
1. To unclothe; to strip, as of clothes, arms, or equipage;
-- opposed to {invest}.
[1913 Webster]
2. Fig.: To strip; to deprive; to dispossess; as, to divest
one of his rights or privileges; to divest one's self of
prejudices, passions, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Wretches divested of every moral feeling.
--Goldsmith.
[1913 Webster]
The tendency of the language to divest itself of its
gutturals. --Earle.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Law) See {Devest}. --Mozley & W.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
divest
v 1: take away possessions from someone; "The Nazis stripped the
Jews of all their assets" [syn: {deprive}, {strip},
{divest}]
2: deprive of status or authority; "he was divested of his
rights and his title"; "They disinvested themselves of their
rights" [syn: {divest}, {disinvest}] [ant: {enthrone},
{invest}, {vest}]
3: reduce or dispose of; cease to hold (an investment); "The
company decided to divest"; "the board of trustees divested
$20 million in real estate property"; "There was pressure on
the university to disinvest in South Africa" [syn: {divest},
{disinvest}] [ant: {commit}, {invest}, {place}, {put}]
4: remove (someone's or one's own) clothes; "The nurse quickly
undressed the accident victim"; "She divested herself of her
outdoor clothes"; "He disinvested himself of his garments"
[syn: {strip}, {undress}, {divest}, {disinvest}]
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