bequeathed
Americanadjective
-
(of personal property or money) disposed of by a person’s final will.
The college has received a bequeathed gift of $1 million from one of its alumni.
-
handed down or passed on.
The more conservative council members see traditional values as the bequeathed virtues of a preferred past.
verb
Other Word Forms
- unbequeathed adjective
Etymology
Origin of bequeathed
First recorded in 1615–25; bequeath ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; bequeath ( def. ) + -ed 1 ( def. ) for the verb sense
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We maintain ourselves in existence,” he says, “through a style bequeathed to us by our Rilkean memories.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025
Mr. Rein implores us to override the divisive reflexes evolution has bequeathed us.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 13, 2025
It takes time for newly-elected presidents to assemble their cabinet, cue up a legislative program, address the problems — or coast on the economic health — bequeathed them by their predecessors.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2025
The sculptor had donated it to a Save the Children charity auction in 1963, where it was bought by the former governor who later bequeathed it to Bryanston School.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025
Before he died he handed over his pocket-book to me, and bequeathed me his boots—the same that he once inherited from Kemmerich.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
