APPROPRIATED Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

appropriated

verb

past tense of appropriate

as in seized

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right archaeologists wrongfully appropriated artifacts excavated at ancient sites for their museums

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as in stole

to take (something) without right and with an intent to keep you can't just appropriate somebody's term paper and put your name on it!

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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 appropriated The funds would be pulled from money that Congress appropriated for health programs tackling malaria, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, nutrition, global health security, HIV/AIDS and more, two federal health policy experts told CNN. —

Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 7 May 2026 Cohen is careful not to let enthusiasm for the science bleed into endorsement of the wellness industry that has appropriated it. —

Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2026 The administration has refused to spend money Congress has appropriated, like for foreign aid, and has spent money that Congress has not appropriated, like to pay DHS employees despite a shutdown. —

Sam Gringlas, NPR, 13 Apr. 2026 The symbols were easily appropriated for marketing by roadside vendors but weren’t indicative of the separate and distinct Native American cultures in the area. —

Susan Montoya Bryan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026 That money is appropriated annually by Congress, where there is widespread support for the alliance. —

Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026 By state law, the legislature is supposed to fund 92% of those excess costs, but since 2011, the legislature has not appropriated enough to reach that mark. —

Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2026 Attorneys for the federal government were only able to file a motion to reopen the case once Congress appropriated Justice Department funds. —

Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 24 Mar. 2026 But Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a statement to The Bee that the legal expenses more than paid for themselves when the state won back $188 billion in money that Congress had appropriated, but the administration was withholding. —

Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for appropriated

Verb

He was also ordered to pay nearly $111 million in restitution and forfeit roughly $17 million that the government seized from bank accounts.

— Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
So far this year, 12 guns have been seized by Annapolis Police, according to department data.

— JT Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 8 May 2026