ENGLISH
REFERENCE

deprive sb/sth of sth

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to take something away from someone or prevent them from having something they need.

phr. v.. to prevent a person or entity from possessing or enjoying something, typically a necessity or a right; functions as a transitive verb with a prepositional complement.


SIMPLE

You shouldn't deprive yourself of sleep to study.

CONTEXTUAL

The new law would deprive many citizens of their right to vote in the upcoming election.

COMPLEX

The harsh winter conditions threatened to deprive the isolated mountain village of its primary food supply for several weeks.

Particles
of
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
deprive + object + of + object
Usage

always requires the preposition 'of' before the thing being taken away.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'rob' (stealing) and 'deny' (refusing to give); 'deprive' often implies a long-term loss of a basic need like sleep, food, or rights.

Pitfall

They deprive him from his rights.They deprive him of his rights.the verb 'deprive' must be followed by the preposition 'of', not 'from'.

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