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appropriated

verb

past tense of appropriate
1
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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2
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 The president responded by saying his administration wouldn't spend the $257 million appropriated by Congress on renovating the building unless the building also bears his name. — Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026 Congress has already appropriated nearly $257 million toward these repairs and other needs. — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 17 Sep. 2026 Congress last year appropriated more than $250 million for the restoration. — Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026 Congress last year appropriated $257 million for the renovation. — Devin Garbitt, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026 Congress appropriated over $250 million for renovations to the Kennedy Center in 2025. — Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026 For every song ingested into these LLMs, ALL of the creative elements that went into the track have been surreptitiously appropriated. — David Barber, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026 The initial contract between Norman and Mental Health Association Oklahoma was for one year and carried a $383,633 price tag, with $333,633 appropriated from Opioid Settlement Funds. — Jake Ramsey, Oklahoma Watch, 30 Aug. 2026 Trump then argued that a massive renovation of the building can’t be completed without his fundraising – and recognition for it with his name on the building and grounds – even though Congress appropriated $257 million for the project. — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for appropriated
  1. seized
  2. stole
  3. confiscated
  4. misappropriated
  5. usurped
  6. swiped
  7. converted
  8. claimed
Verb
  • Democrats have seized upon AI safety to boost their chances of retaking congressional control in the midterms.
    — Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Since returning to office in 2025, POTUS seized control of the press pool from the White House Correspondents’ Association.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of seized
Verb
  • The victim said the assailant then struck his companion in the forehead with the pistol, stole his wallet and ran.
    — Rafael Escalera Montoto, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The Retrievals follows an unlikely community of IVF patients who come together to crusade against Yale University after they are operated on without anesthesia — because a nurse (Ryan) stole their fentanyl.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of stole
Verb
  • The following day, all three outlets reported that their journalists had been denied access to the White House grounds, with MS NOW and Politico claiming press passes had been confiscated.
    — Adam England, PEOPLE, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Soon after, Politico said its White House reporter Cheyenne Haslett was also denied entry and had her badge confiscated.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of confiscated
Verb
  • That’s one reason there are so many arguments over the value of a team, or an athlete, or sports more generally, as more and more money chases something essentially priceless—or misappropriated, depending on your view.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Every dollar misappropriated by a fraudulent operator is a dollar taken directly from an individual struggling with depression, addiction or severe mental illness.
    — Richard Popiel, Boston Herald, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of misappropriated
Verb
  • Jason Speaking of football-loving families, the Kelces seem to have usurped the Mannings for the sport’s first family.
    — Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Howie Roseman acquired Bigsby after Week 1, and Bigsby eventually usurped Shipley as Barkley’s top backup.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of usurped
Verb
  • State investigators say thieves have been using sophisticated skimming devices all across Philadelphia to steal EBT card information once it's been swiped.
    — Liz Crawford, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Some ads featured photos of real kids, including a press photo of a young member of a European royal family and images swiped from a popular Instagram profile of a preteen girl deemed an influencer.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of swiped
Verb
  • Then, Thorns forward Caiya Hanks drew a foul on Oihane Hernández in the 27th minute, and Wilson converted the penalty kick to double the lead.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The Huskies scored on all four trips into the red zone and converted 8 of 14 opportunities on 3rd down after going just 3 of 11 against the Terrapins with no red zone trips last week.
    — Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of converted
Verb
  • No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
  • An ultra-Orthodox private investigator named Avi Lehrer called Shraga and claimed to have bank records showing that Netanyahu and his family held millions of dollars in offshore accounts.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of claimed

Browse Nearby Words

appropriate
appropriated
appropriately
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Cite this Entry

“Appropriated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/appropriated. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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