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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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!

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 appropriated 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 Because the fee revenue is appropriated by Congress and most of it is not considered mandatory spending, TSA does not have control of the money. —

Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for appropriated

Verb

Edward Burke — then seized control of City Council and approved a new lineup of committee chairs and leaders.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 2 May 2026
Police stormed the gallery and seized two canvases—The Naked Man, depicting a nude youth gripping a monstrous phallus, and The Big Night Down the Drain, showing a Hitler-like figure masturbating.

— News Desk, Artforum, 1 May 2026