dispossess
/dɪspəˈzəs/
"dispossess" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“dispossess” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To deprive someone of the possession of land, especially by evicting them.
Corpus desk
Index EN-dispossess · dispossess · English
dispossess · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | dispossess |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪspəˈzəs/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “dispossess” in English
Rare enough to double-check
dispossess is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪspəˈzəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for dispossess, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English [Term?], from Middle French despossesser. Equivalent to dis- + possess. The correct English form is dispossess, spelled D-I-S-P-O-S-S-E-S-S.
Definition
- 1To deprive someone of the possession of land, especially by evicting them.
- 2To deprive someone of possession in general.
- 3To take possession of the ball/puck etc. (from someone).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how dispossess appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Though Mars himſelfe the angry God of armes, And all the earthly Potentates conſpire, To diſpoſſeſſe me of this Diadem: Yet wil I weare it in deſpight of them As great commander of this Eaſtearne world, […]
It was Bannan who released Agbonlahor for his goal with a long-range curling pass after Stephen Warnock had dispossessed Mohamed Diame.
Etymology
From Middle English [Term?], from Middle French despossesser. Equivalent to dis- + possess.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.