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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
Example Sentences
Deanna Pan, BostonGlobe.com, 27 June 2023
Sometimes results won't provide a clear answer, and new ways of testing might have to be devised.
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 22 June 2023
Once a repair for the issue has been devised, owners will be advised to go to their Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the vehicles fixed at no charge.
—Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 6 June 2023
Bobby Ghosh The president is adamant that lower interest rates curb inflation, an idea that runs directly counter to how most central banks devise policies.
—Firat Kozok, Bloomberg.com, 2 June 2023
Indeed, the tools are more useful helping people with actual business ideas do the technical work of starting a company, such as writing a business plan, creating an income statement or devising a marketing strategy.
—Pranshu Verma, Washington Post, 15 May 2023
Few institutions can devise opaque acronyms like the military, and even then, the ‘Terrestrial Layer System’ (TLS) is a doozy.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 22 Apr. 2023
Use of that language — emerging threat― means the Biden administration must devise a national response for handling that threat.
—Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press, 19 Apr. 2023
According to charging documents, Michel and Low — who remains at large after being charged in both the U.S. and Malaysia — are accused of devising a scheme to secretly funnel approximately $2 million into efforts to reelect President Barack Obama in 2012.
—Robert Legare, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2023
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
Ally expects to surface in some of the content that creators who take part in the program devise.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 16 Oct. 2021
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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.
Word History
Verb and Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French deviser, diviser, to divide, distinguish, invent, from Vulgar Latin *divisare, frequentative of Latin dividere to divide
Verb
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Dictionary Entries Near devise
Cite this Entry
“Devise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devise. Accessed 9 Jul. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
devise
verb
Legal 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
More from Merriam-Webster on devise
Nglish: Translation of devise for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of devise for Arabic Speakers
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