commandeered

verb

past tense of commandeer
1
as in hijacked
to take control of (a vehicle) by force an airliner commandeered by terrorists

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in seized
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right commandeered all of the equipment, as if the chem lab belonged solely to him

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 commandeered In the most infamous example, a swarm of 1,000 Open AI agents escaped their sandbox, commandeered online message boards to communicate with each other, and breached the systems of the open source AI community Hugging Face. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 14 Oct. 2026 Such go-fast boats were designed for offshore racing but were later commandeered by drug smugglers in South Florida during the 1980s. — Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2026 Curious Londoners stopped to figure out why a marching band, a blue bird and a few hundred Americans had suddenly commandeered a stretch of Oxford Street. — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026 Inside the farmhouse, the kitchen speaker has been entirely commandeered by cast members Earl Cave and Conrad Khan. — Riann Phillip, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026 The Jackson campaign had commandeered the green room Bottoms and her aides were supposed to use for the event. — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 28 Aug. 2026 John’s little motorbike proves no match for the large truck commandeered by the T-1000, which blasts through a cinder block wall at one point. — ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026 This data could be leveraged for surveillance or intelligence, and robots could be remotely commandeered. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 The Loa River was commandeered in its entirety, source to mouth. — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commandeered
  1. hijacked
  2. seized
  3. confiscated
  4. converted
  5. usurped
  6. grabbed
  7. occupied
  8. stole
Verb
  • But the Australian incident is harder to defend against because nobody hijacked anything.
    — Francis Dinha, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The movie centers on a young couple’s elopement which is hijacked by a death cult determined to resurrect the groom’s dead father.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of hijacked
Verb
  • The verdict came just three days after regulators seized Ueno Bank, cutting nearly 3 million customers off from their savings and bank cards and setting off a political crisis.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The Digest Now that the Democratic Party has seized control of Congress, what does that mean for culture, including the debacle over the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and arts funding?
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of seized
Verb
  • Despite the freezing temperatures, agents confiscated the migrants’ coats and refused to give them blankets.
    — Francisco Cantú, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The roughly 3-inch pocket knife was confiscated by authorities, Manfre said.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of confiscated
Verb
  • Weed that exceeds the state’s pesticide limits is destroyed, diluted or converted into products with higher pesticide allowances, such as edibles.
    — Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The Cowboys’ offense did the defense no favors, giving Indianapolis a short field in the first half that the Colts converted on, and scoring just three points for most of the second half.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of converted
Verb
  • But having your name be usurped by a bag is a strangely dehumanizing experience.
    — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
  • But by the end of the movie, Verity is dead and her publishing empire has been usurped by her ghostwriter.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of usurped
Verb
  • Grayson Grove grabbed a team-high six boards to go with seven points for the Golden Gophers.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Doncic, who led the Lakers with 32 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals, grabbed at his right ankle immediately.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • Engineers can also adjust channel width to balance performance, power consumption, and the space occupied by a device.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Josie’s, the creation of two San Diego restaurateurs who already have four other dining venues in San Diego, has landed in the Hub Hillcrest Market space formerly occupied by Panera Bread.
    — Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of occupied
Verb
  • Fans loved it, for instance, when in 2022 Jordan stole Alicia’s old phone in the middle of the night, called hundreds of people, and posted so many TikToks that her account was temporarily suspended.
    — Rebecca Jennings, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Witt started 140 games at shortstop for Kansas City, hit 18 home runs, stole 45 bases and ranked in the top 10 in the AL in both offensive and defensive wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference.
    — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 11 Nov. 2026
Definition of stole

Browse Nearby Words

commandeer
commandeered
commandeering
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Cite this Entry

“Commandeered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commandeered. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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