Unoccupy

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To vacate or leave a place or position previously held; to cease occupying a space or role; to abandon an area or post from which one was established
2. To withdraw from or relinquish control or presence in a location; to stop using or residing in a particular site or position; to clear out from an assigned or habitual place
3. To give up possession or occupancy of a site, place, or status; to remove oneself from a location once occupied; to discontinue inhabiting or holding a section of space or responsibility

Etymology: In Latin, "occupare" meant to seize or take hold of something, built from "ob-" (toward, against) and "capere" (to take). That same "capere" gives English "capture," "captive," and "receive." Occupying a place originally meant grabbing it, not simply living in it, and the gentler sense of residing or holding a post grew out of that older meaning of forceful taking. "Unoccupy" is a regular reversal formed by adding the prefix "un-" to "occupy," so it means to undo an occupation. Because it is a transparent formation, its meaning follows directly from its parts. The verb is uncommon, so most English speakers would reach for "vacate" or "leave" instead, and the older, more forceful sense of "occupy" survives mainly in military and legal contexts.

Synonyms: vacate, leave, abandon, evacuate, depart

Antonyms: occupy, inhabit, reside, settle