1
as in seizes
to take or keep under one's control by authority of law
the inept robber was promptly arrested by the off-duty policeman he had tried to hold up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stops
to bring (something) to a standstill
cryogenics is based on the idea that extreme cold can almost arrest molecular motion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in enchants
to hold the attention of as if by a spell
the sight of the daredevil walking a tightrope between high-rises arrested area pedestrians and motorists alike
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in raids
the act of taking into one's control by authority of law
there have been only two arrests for driving while intoxicated in the county in the last six months
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cessations
the stopping of a process or activity
"hemostasis" is the technical term for arrest of bleeding
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of arrests
Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Devlin throws a punch at Stone when the chief arrests him for drunken driving.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
The horrid image in the news of a column of smoke rising above the city of Tehran — an abyss of darkness against the gray sky — arrests my attention.
—Babak Rahimi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
The Department of Damage Control arrests Trevor.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 27 Jan. 2026
The sheer scale of an estate for sale in San Francisco’s tony Pacific Heights neighborhood — a residence spanning 26,000 square feet, or the equivalent of 10 average homes — arrests the imagination.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Bascombe is the one who arrests Jamie Miller (Cooper) under suspicion of murder.
—Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
Police officer Hugo Crussi (Vogrincic) traces the voice to a young preacher, Jonas Flores (Zurita), and arrests him.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Sarah Moreno
june 5, Miami Herald, 6 June 2026
Sheriff Cordero-Stutz noted that authorities learned lessons from the chaos two years ago at the Copa America final, where fans rushed the gates, leading to dozens of arrests.
—Joan Murray, CBS News, 6 June 2026
And police across the state have made hundreds of arrests.
—Michael Ruiz , Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
Some protest movements have faced legal action against organizers and activist arrests, which critics say reflects a broader effort under Modi to suppress dissent.
—ABC News, 5 June 2026
Law enforcement sources say the victim has been linked to multiple robbery patterns and has a criminal record that includes numerous arrests.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026
The investigation is ongoing, and additional arrests and charges may be forthcoming, according to Sadriu.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 5 June 2026
How ‘Clean Slate’ laws work States have a legal process in which people can petition the courts to seal or expunge old arrests or convictions, depending on the seriousness of the offense and after a certain period of time.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Whether or not it's called a quota, police officers face all sorts of pressure to hand out tickets and make arrests.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 30 May 2026
Verb
Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish.
—Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
Devlin throws a punch at Stone when the chief arrests him for drunken driving.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
The horrid image in the news of a column of smoke rising above the city of Tehran — an abyss of darkness against the gray sky — arrests my attention.
—Babak Rahimi, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
The Department of Damage Control arrests Trevor.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 27 Jan. 2026
The sheer scale of an estate for sale in San Francisco’s tony Pacific Heights neighborhood — a residence spanning 26,000 square feet, or the equivalent of 10 average homes — arrests the imagination.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Bascombe is the one who arrests Jamie Miller (Cooper) under suspicion of murder.
—Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
Police officer Hugo Crussi (Vogrincic) traces the voice to a young preacher, Jonas Flores (Zurita), and arrests him.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
More arrests in Cuba Detentions and imprisonment of ordinary citizens who are not activists or government opponents have increased in recent months.
—Sarah Moreno
june 5, Miami Herald, 6 June 2026
Sheriff Cordero-Stutz noted that authorities learned lessons from the chaos two years ago at the Copa America final, where fans rushed the gates, leading to dozens of arrests.
—Joan Murray, CBS News, 6 June 2026
And police across the state have made hundreds of arrests.
—Michael Ruiz , Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
Some protest movements have faced legal action against organizers and activist arrests, which critics say reflects a broader effort under Modi to suppress dissent.
—ABC News, 5 June 2026
Law enforcement sources say the victim has been linked to multiple robbery patterns and has a criminal record that includes numerous arrests.
—Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026
The investigation is ongoing, and additional arrests and charges may be forthcoming, according to Sadriu.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 5 June 2026
How ‘Clean Slate’ laws work States have a legal process in which people can petition the courts to seal or expunge old arrests or convictions, depending on the seriousness of the offense and after a certain period of time.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
Whether or not it's called a quota, police officers face all sorts of pressure to hand out tickets and make arrests.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 30 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arrests
Verb
-
Trump seizes America’s 250th-birthday spotlight, headlining the Great American State Fair, hosting a UFC bout at the White House and promoting new passports, $250 bills and coins bearing his image.—
Will Weissert,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
Ellie brings up the salad and seizes the opportunity to take credit for her part in making lunch.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Your success stops feeling hollow.—
Chris Schembra,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2026
-
There is no single treatment that stops the allergic march in its tracks, but there are ways to slow its progress.—
Dr. Daniel DiGiacomo,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Ella has shades of Holly Hunter's intense, workaholic producer Jane from Brooks' 1987 masterpiece Broadcast News, the smartest person in any room who both exhausts and enchants everyone around her.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
12 Dec. 2025
-
By bringing these three gestures together, Killam fashions a method that repairs, strengthens, and re-enchants the invisible social fabric that sustains us.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
27 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Prosecutors say Ian Roberts spent nearly two decades working in urban schools without authorization, using a counterfeit Social Security card as Des Moines’ leader, even as Trump-era ICE raids intensified.—
Hannah Fingerhut,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
-
The bakery became a gathering point for community support during federal immigration raids in Charlotte last fall, when Betancur temporarily closed the shop for the first time in its history.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Temporary cessations of hostility, but no permanent closing of the moral and social divide between debtor and creditor, and no giving up on the thought that some lives matter more than others.—
Henry Freedland,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
John Early, as anyone encountering his work soon apprehends, chooses the latter.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
7 June 2026
-
Though the team immediately apprehends a suspect, the Marshals end up taking criticism from both sides.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Not necessarily that the basketball becomes easier, but each minute is so tense, both teams are so focused and each possession is so tight that the winner is often decided by which team — or player — can execute when the game halts to a grind.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
-
Cooper’s ruling halts those plans for now.—
Collin Binkley,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
There is something about the play Harvey that fascinates me, especially for right now.—
Scott Feinberg,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
-
Part of what fascinates and frustrates as regards Ginsberg is that for all of those thick anthologies, propriety forces me to concede that many of the poems simply aren’t that good.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Arrests.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arrests. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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