seize

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word seize different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of seize are clutch, grab, grasp, snatch, and take. While all these words mean "to get hold of by or as if by catching up with the hand," seize implies a sudden and forcible movement in getting hold of something tangible or an apprehending of something fleeting or elusive when intangible.

seized the suspect

When might clutch be a better fit than seize?

While the synonyms clutch and seize are close in meaning, clutch suggests avidity or anxiety in seizing or grasping and may imply less success in holding.

clutching her purse

How are the words grab and snatch related as synonyms of seize?

Grab implies more roughness or rudeness than snatch.

grabbed roughly by the arm

When is it sensible to use grasp instead of seize?

The words grasp and seize are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, grasp stresses a laying hold so as to have firmly in possession.

grasp the handle and pull

How do snatch and seize relate to one another?

Snatch suggests more suddenness or quickness but less force than seize.

snatched a doughnut and ran

When could take be used to replace seize?

The words take and seize can be used in similar contexts, but take is a general term applicable to any manner of getting something into one's possession or control.

take some salad from the bowl

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 seize But Varas pointed out that authorities had also seized a cell phone used by the individual who allegedly committed the robbery. Gonzalo Zegarra, CNN Money, 1 Aug. 2025 Trump wants the Fed board to sideline Powell in long-running interest rate spat President Trump said the Federal Reserve board should seize control if Fed Chair Jerome Powell continues to refuse to lower interest rates. Medora Lee, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2025 At the Lenexa restaurant, the HSI agents left behind a copy of a warrant signed by a judge authorizing them to seize records and documents. Sofi Zeman august 1, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2025 The Brazilian internet quickly seized on it as a visual demonstration of stray-dog-ism at its purest. Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of analytical psychology, is credited with theorizing that while people can have complexes, complexes can have people. Shannon Sims, New Yorker, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for seize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for seize
Verb
  • State leaders, however, insist the accountability is necessary to understand whether districts are serving students and how schools might be falling short of educating children.
    Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
  • The tax world has always been a fascinating one – a mix of understanding personal needs of the taxpayers while navigating the ever-changing tax code that’s the result of political forces in the local and national economy.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Verb
  • The rapper, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been held at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since he was arrested in September 2024.
    Daniel S. Levine, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025
  • She has been arrested at least twice before under the name Majorie Quarrie.
    Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Other exterior modifications, all of which have subtly been worked into the design, include side steps, grab handles to assist with entry and exit, mud flaps, a trunk liner, and a dog guard for the queen’s beloved pets.
    Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Instead of paying for Microsoft 365 indefinitely or grabbing a new MacBook off the shelf, get a more affordable version of both.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 4 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • From 2022 through 2024, law enforcement officials in California confiscated 139,017 guns used in crimes with identifiable serial numbers, according to the DOJ’s crime guns report.
    Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 12 July 2025
  • No charges have been pressed against Stone, but her family said her phone was confiscated.
    Joey Safchik, NBC news, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • Servers look to their customer's coasters — gold for nonalcoholic and black for alcohol — to know what kind of drink each patron wants.
    Jordyn Noennig, jsonline.com, 31 July 2025
  • Ford’s traditional business operations, known as Ford Blue, earned $661 million in the quarter compared with $1.17 billion in the year-ago quarter.
    Jamie L. LaReau, Freep.com, 31 July 2025
Verb
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have apprehended a teacher who allegedly overstayed his visa.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 July 2025
  • The forums proved useful in 2019, when the public learned the sheriff’s office had cooperated with ICE to allow its agents to enter private areas in county jails and apprehend immigrants in detention.
    Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • Four years earlier, a Texas Rangers fan fell to his death while trying to catch a ball at that team’s former park.
    Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2025
  • Chisholm was caught sleeping and doubled up at first on a ball that didn’t leave the infield.
    James Oconnell, The Orlando Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • In the pour, this hybridization results in a sweeter, fruitier nose – raspberry, banana and apricot steal top-notes from the underlying malt.
    Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
  • The university's Davidge Hall once housed a small grayscale portrait of its namesake, dating to the 1800s, but that painting was stolen in the 1990s.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Seize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/seize. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.

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