EXPROPRIATE Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

expropriate

verb

ek-ˈsprō-prē-ˌāt

Definition of expropriate

as in to seize

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right dissidents were shot, and their lands expropriated under his regime

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to evict

to end the occupancy or possession of the state will have to expropriate scores of homeowners in order to build the new road

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to confiscate

to take ownership or control of (something) by right of one's authority plans by the city to expropriate entire blocks of houses in order to bulldoze them for expansion of the airport

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of expropriate Chávez had ordered all of Venezuela’s ports to be expropriated. — Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 27 May 2026 Gray says the project, revolving around an elderly woman seeking revenge on a foreign company that expropriated her land to build a luxury ski resort, offers international casting and co-producer angles but that the configuration will depend on Kawawada’s artistic vision. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 12 May 2026 Farmland and forests owned jointly by a village or a clan were likewise expropriated by the Japanese since no single individual could claim them. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026 Much of that early ’Lo gear was boosted from department stores across the New York tristate Area, and ‘Lo Heads ran the risk of their own spoils being expropriated back home. — Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for expropriate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for expropriate

Verb

However, such a tie-up would be the largest in history and would almost certainly raise antitrust concerns that Democrats would seize upon.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Washington seized control of Venezuela's oil exports in January after ousting former President Nicolás Maduro in a military raid.

— Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of seize

Verb

But on the criminal side, prosecutors help petitioners pull together information about whether a defendant has guns that need to be confiscated, which then gets forwarded on to the relevant law enforcement agency.

— Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026
The justice minister said police, soldiers, and mining officials confiscated more than 500 trucks and machinery at several sites in the country’s southeast.

— Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of confiscate

Verb

But having your name be usurped by a bag is a strangely dehumanizing experience.

— Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
By the time the coffee shop building was going up at the end of the route in 1959, Fresco said, interstate freeways were already beginning to usurp Route 66’s role and the Santa Monica route of Interstate 10 had been plotted.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of usurp

Verb

Cutting hostas down in the fall deprives them of winter coverage to prevent predators, like birds and frogs, from attacking them, Ballato says.

— Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 8 Nov. 2026
The torture, in part, included depriving Gabriel of food, beating him, forcing him to eat cat feces and locking him alone in a cabinet with a sock shoved inside his mouth.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026

Definition of deprive

Verb

Police also received one unconfirmed report that a Honda SUV was stolen using an OBD-2 port scanner, which involves plugging a device in under the dashboard and duplicating the key fob.

— Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 10 Nov. 2026
In all sorts of ways, from the character of Baum’s music to the show-stealing sassy sidekicks, Wanted is channeling the Mouse House during its second golden age of animation, the era of Simba, Aladdin, and the muses of Hercules.

— Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2026

Definition of steal

Verb

Their laborers came cheap, often Native Americans dispossessed from their own rights.

— Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
Sveindís Jónsdóttir capped the scoring in the 67th minute, dispossessing Tatumn Milazzo deep in Utah territory before rolling a shot past McGlynn’s right side.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of dispossess

Verb

In a separate incident Sunday, Basabe flagged down police to report that a parking garage employee grabbed and threw his phone to the ground, the report shows.

— Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026
Testing spoons stored in a manner where lip contact surface contamination could happen when employee grabs the spoon from container.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of grab

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expressways

expropriate

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“Expropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expropriate. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of expropriate

verb

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