disinherit

[ dis-in-her-it ]

verb (used with object)

1. Law. to exclude from inheritance (an heir or a next of kin).
2. to deprive of a heritage, country, right, privilege, etc.:

   the disinherited peoples of the earth.

disinherit

/ ˌdɪsɪnˈhɛrɪt /

verb

1. law to deprive (an heir or next of kin) of inheritance or right to inherit
2. to deprive of a right or heritage

Derived Forms

• ˌdisinˈheritance, noun

Other Words From

• disin·heri·tance noun
• undis·in·herit·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of disinherit¹

First recorded in 1525–35; dis- ¹ + inherit

Example Sentences

Howard Thurman said, “There is one overmastering problem that the socially and politically disinherited always face: under what terms is survival possible?”

From Salon

Callum Flannelly is a painfully shy undertaker in Ireland who will be disinherited if he doesn’t marry by the time he’s 35.

From Los Angeles Times

Fleming severed his relationship with Monique after his mother threatened to disinherit him, an act that would reverberate across his lifetime in pangs of sadness and despair.

From Salon

By drawing parallels between Jesus and the “disinherited” — America’s descendants of enslaved Africans struggling to survive Jim Crow — "Jesus and the Disinherited" grandfathered the images of Samuel’s film.

From Salon

Bickering among family members who may feel disinherited is effectively quashed by trusts.

From Encyclopedia.com