Uprooted

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Forcefully pulled from the ground by the roots, often causing damage to plants ; displaced or removed from a familiar place or situation, often involuntarily
2. Extracted completely from the earth with roots intact, typically referring to plants or trees ; separated from one's native or usual surroundings, leading to a loss of stability or normalcy
3. Torn out from the soil including roots, as in trees or plants ; transferred away from home or habitat against one’s will, resulting in disruption or dislocation

Etymology: "Uprooted" is the past form of "uproot," built from "up-" and "root." The verb's root part traces back through Old English "rōt" and Old Norse "rót" to a Proto-Germanic word for the plant's underground part, which in turn goes back to an ancient Indo-European root. Pulling a plant up by its roots is the literal sense, and the figurative sense of forcibly removing someone or something from a place grew naturally from that image. A second, separate verb has the same spelling in English. It comes from Middle English "wroten," from Old English "wrōtan," meaning to dig or turn up the ground with the snout, as pigs do, and later to rummage through soil. Its ultimate origin is uncertain. Both verbs are now merged in the single spelling "uproot," so the pig-snouting sense and the plant-pulling sense sit side by side under one form.

Synonyms: deracinated, displaced, removed, exiled, dislodged

Antonyms: planted, established, rooted, settled, anchored