1
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
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2
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
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3
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expropriate
Since 2022, the Ukrainian government has proceeded systematically to expropriate the assets of these companies, diminishing the interests of private investors, and, in the end, decreasing the amount of energy actually produced.
—
Daniel Markind, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
About a dozen European companies have had their Russian subsidiaries expropriated by presidential decree, including Danish brewer Carlsberg and Finnish utility Fortum and the Kremlin has warned of more asset seizures.
—Anna Hirtenstein and Alexander Marrow, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
From the fourteenth century onward, Ottoman sultans regularly expropriated their subjects, including merchants, soldiers, and state officials.
—Timur Kuran, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017
Castillo at one time threatened to expropriate mining concessions and Petro has pledged to halt oil and coal investment and exploration in a unilateral bid to address climate change.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for expropriate
Daniel Markind, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
About a dozen European companies have had their Russian subsidiaries expropriated by presidential decree, including Danish brewer Carlsberg and Finnish utility Fortum and the Kremlin has warned of more asset seizures.
—Anna Hirtenstein and Alexander Marrow, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
From the fourteenth century onward, Ottoman sultans regularly expropriated their subjects, including merchants, soldiers, and state officials.
—Timur Kuran, Foreign Affairs, 15 Aug. 2017
Castillo at one time threatened to expropriate mining concessions and Petro has pledged to halt oil and coal investment and exploration in a unilateral bid to address climate change.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2022
See All Example Sentences for expropriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expropriate
Verb
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In 2024, the DEA seized more than 60 million counterfeit pills and nearly 8,000 pounds of fentanyl powder nationwide — enough to deliver more than 380 million lethal doses.—
Mark Michalek,
Denver Post,
28 June 2025
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Speakers at the conference, aimed at helping Republicans hold the House and Senate, seized on Mamdani’s win as a symbol of the Democratic Party’s hard-left turn, using it to paint the entire party with the same brush.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Land Power vividly shows the lasting consequences of this redistribution of land, for instance in the case of the Cahuilla Indians of California’s Coachella Valley, a people first confined to reservations and then evicted from even those lands in the 1950s.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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Months or even years can pass before the owner of the property finally succeeds in evicting the squatters.—
Chris West,
Baltimore Sun,
12 June 2025
Verb
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The Pennsylvania State Game Commission confiscated the wildcats as part of an ongoing investigation.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
12 June 2025
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Police would have the power to ticket, impound vehicles, confiscate personal property, revoke licenses and levy heavy fines.—
Paul Vallas,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2025
Verb
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Every member of the Fulbright Program’s board resigned after accusing the Trump Administration of usurping its authority and canceling scholarships for nearly 200 U.S. professors and researchers.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
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In that case, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, the judge said the president’s attempt to use a federal agency to enact a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voting usurped the power of states and Congress, which at the time was considering legislation that would do just that.—
Leah Willingham,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Additionally, the nearly $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid could deprive more than 10 million Americans of health insurance and regular access to doctors.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 June 2025
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This deprives patients of the possible benefit of a new treatment while elevating their risk.—
Madison Plunkert,
Baltimore Sun,
23 June 2025
Verb
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The Twins spent all day playing from behind after starter Simeon Woods Richardson gave up hits to two of the first three batters and Jeffers airmailed a throw into the outfield trying to nab Christian Yelich stealing second.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
21 June 2025
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And like the most recent case out of Iowa, stealing someone else’s flag to burn could also be criminal, the organization said.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
21 June 2025
Verb
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The term is Albertus’s rather mild moniker for the violent way European settlers seized swaths of the earth, dispossessing and often killing those who already inhabited them.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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There was a pirouette and backheel flick in the 38th minute, which did not lead to much, and a 67th-minute dribble inside off the left flank that only saw him get dispossessed.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
8 May 2025
Verb
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In the few months since its launch, JD.com has grabbed 7.5% of China’s food-delivery market after its daily meal orders reached 20 million on May 13, according to a May 14 research note from Blue Lotus Capital Advisors.—
Yue Wang,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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In Monday night’s first quarter after falling to the court, Haliburton winced and grabbed his lower right leg.—
Shakeia Taylor,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Expropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expropriate. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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