1. to wrongfully keep possession of property that belongs to another person
Usage: legal; archaic

Examples

• The tenant was accused of deforcing the landlord’s property after the lease expired.
• Medieval law recognized deforcement as a serious offense against property rights.
• The court ruled that he had deforced the rightful heir of the estate.
• Legal documents from the 14th century describe various forms of deforcement.
• She was charged with deforcing her neighbor’s land after refusing to acknowledge the boundary dispute ruling.