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There's something inventive about devise, a word that stems from Latin dividere, meaning "to divide." By the time devise began being used in early Middle English, its Anglo-French forebear deviser had accumulated an array of senses, including "divide," "distribute," "arrange," "array," "digest," "order," "plan," "invent," "contrive," and "assign by will." English adopted most of these and added some new senses over the course of time, such as "imagine," "guess," "pretend," and "describe." In modern use, we've disposed of a lot of the old meanings, but we have kept the one that applies to wills; devise has traditionally referred to the transfer of real property (land), and bequeath to personal property. These days, this devise is most often recognized as applying generally to all the property in a person's estate.
Synonyms
Examples of devise in a Sentence
TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
As for the Burma Act, it was originally devised in 2019 and passed only after being watered down significantly.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Eastman’s comeuppance came a day after McDaniel’s unceremonious exit, when a California State Bar judge recommended the attorney lose his law license for helping devise a cockamamie scheme to keep Trump in office despite his election defeat.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
Clem focused in on running it, serving as general manager/owner and Mueller devised the creative recipes
The partners once explored opening a second la Barbecue in Los Angeles, but that didn’t materialize.
—Gary Stern, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Rather than render medical aid to Mr. Jenkins, the officers reassembled outside to devise a cover story.
—Brendan O'Brien and Steve Gorman, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Mar. 2024
Dedmon devised the coverup scheme to cover up the involved officers' misconduct.
—USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
From this central preoccupation, Hondo devises a distinctive and singular aesthetic, sharply personal yet historically informed.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024
The separation is part of an ambitious cost-cutting program devised by Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher, who took the top job in January 2023 and revealed the plan last October.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024
Dana Oland, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Because these sophisticated devises require more training and retraining over time, their existence will also offer different tech opportunities in answering training needs.
—Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2023
The second way is for that child to acknowledge, in writing, that the $50,000 lifetime gift was in satisfaction of the devise in your will.
—Dallas News, 27 Feb. 2022
These are assets that can be given now or left as a specific devise in a will or trust.
—Dallas News, 4 Dec. 2022
Historically, personality tests have been used as a tool to help some businesses make hiring decisions and devise activities.
—Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 24 July 2020
In a statement Friday, the IS-K said the explosive devise that devastated Mazar-e-Sharif's Sai Doken mosque was hidden in a bag left inside among scores of worshippers.
—Kathy Gannon and Mohammad Shaob Amin, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2022
When the pandemic required the district to implement remote learning in March of last year, the district was forced to assure all students were issued an electronic devise.
—Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, 22 Dec. 2021
This is often a preferable arrangement if the couple's intent is for the surviving partner to have complete ownership of the home since this transfer is automatic by operation of law and not dependent upon a devise under a will.
—Matthew Erskine, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near devise
Cite this Entry
“Devise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devise. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
devise
2 of 2 nounNote: Formerly devise was used to refer only to gifts of real property, and legacy and bequest were used only to refer to gifts of personal property. These distinctions are no longer closely followed. The Uniform Probate Code uses devise to refer to any gifts made in a will.
Note: Executory devises were invented as a way of getting around the rule in Shelley's case, which is now largely abolished.
Transitive verb
Anglo-French deviser to divide, share, bequeath, ultimately from Latin dividere to divide
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