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divest

 - 3 dictionary results
PwC Divestiture Survey
See what's driving divestiture activity in 2010 and beyond
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di⋅vest

  [di-vest, dahy-]
Use divest in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to strip of clothing, ornament, etc.: The wind divested the trees of their leaves.
2. to strip or deprive (someone or something), esp. of property or rights; dispossess.
3. to rid of or free from: He divested himself of all responsibility for the decision.
4. Law. to take away or alienate (property, rights, etc.).
5. Commerce.
a. to sell off: to divest holdings.
b. to rid of through sale: The corporation divested itself of its subsidiaries.
Origin:
1595–1605; < ML dīvestīre, equiv. to dī- di- 2 + vestīre to dress, vest

Synonyms:
1. unclothe, denude. 2. See strip 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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PwC Divestiture Survey
See what's driving divestiture activity in 2010 and beyond
www.pwc.com/us/divestituresurvey
di·vest   (dĭ-věst', dī-)   
tr.v.   di·vest·ed, di·vest·ing, di·vests

  1. To strip, as of clothes.

    1. To deprive, as of rights or property; dispossess.

    2. To free of; rid: "Most secretive of men, let him at last divest himself of secrets, both his and ours" (Brendan Gill).

  3. To sell off or otherwise dispose of (a subsidiary company or an investment).

  4. Law To devest.


[Alteration (influenced by Medieval Latin dīvestīre, to undress) of devest.]
di·vest'ment n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: di·vest
Pronunciation: dI-'vest, d&-
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Anglo-French devestir, literally, to undress, from Old French desvestir, from de(s)-, prefix marking reversal + vestir to dress, from Latin vestire
: to deprive or dispossess (oneself) of property through divestiture —di·vest·ment noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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