Thesaurus results for COMMANDEERS

commandeers

verb

present tense third-person singular of commandeer

as in hijacks

to take control of (a vehicle) by force an airliner commandeered by terrorists

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in seizes

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 commandeers Out-of-control AI escapes human oversight, commandeers vital infrastructure and kills millions of people or even all of humanity. — Max Zahn, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026 After he’s randomly slapped by multiple women, Barney commandeers Ted and Marshall’s March Madness bracket to figure out which of his past conquests is sabotaging his love life. — Erin Strecker, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Aug. 2026 There is a seasonal meadow of two dozen native wildflowers, and a year-round spectacle of sandaster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia) commandeers much of the front yard. — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026 An exciting scene ramps up the action as Castle commandeers a German tank and drives it over a cliff. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 25 June 2026 The service Bjorn commandeers a small team, and often doubles up as bartender, concierge, and sauna turn-oner. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Mar. 2026 In the middle of the stuffy reception, Jenny commandeers the A/V system, blasting punk rock while a squad of models, clad in her early-aughts emo designs, climb on tables. — Matthew Huff, Vanity Fair, 22 Dec. 2025 When the State Department commandeers the West Virginia hotel to house Axis diplomats in the wake of Pearl Harbor, June realizes that nothing will ever be the same again. — Audiofile Magazine august 29, Literary Hub, 29 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for commandeers

Verb

Their predicament hijacks Irwin’s suburban family life, just as his wife Hester (Scarlett Johansson, not Hathaway) is diagnosed with a sudden illness.

— Antonio Ferme, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
As money hijacks morality and democracy begins to look like a hoax, Tresnjak’s Broadway-caliber staging contrasts garish spectacle with piercingly intimate scenes between Claire and Anton.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of hijacks

Verb

Sid is smart enough to sniff this out, and the show seizes the opportunity to raise the romantic stakes through an adorably British expression of mutual libidinousness.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
That reporting revealed that the state frequently seizes money from legal settlements stemming from medical malpractice, police brutality, workplace injury and other wrongful death lawsuits.

— Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of seizes

Verb

Large swaths of the film are composed of close-ups of people’s faces or hands, giving seemingly mundane exchanges and gestures — say, a moment when Evans, unimpressed with Holmes’s egg-whisking technique, confiscates the bowl — greater weight.

— Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026
Unlike most other states, California has its own inspection-and-approval system for fireworks, and confiscates those failing standards.

— Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 30 June 2026

Definition of confiscates

Verb

If anyone who is hired to MC one of the largest events in golf grabs a microphone and joins in on ‘f you’ chants directed at a player in the event you're being paid to be a part of, that person is undoubtedly being fired, regardless of gender.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
The suspect runs inside, grabs rolls of lottery tickets, stuffs them into a bag and runs out.

— Tara Lynch, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of grabs

Verb

California courts have repeatedly refused to rewrite unconstitutional tax statutes on the grounds that this usurps the role of the Legislature or, in the case of an initiative, the people.

— Jared Walczak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2026
After witnessing Sinner miss 16 break points against the same opponent on Friday, Alcaraz would have been forgiven for worrying that something similar might happen to him — especially against arguably tennis’s greatest escape artist, at least until the Spaniard usurps him.

— Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026

Definition of usurps

Verb

The 16-acre complex of 19th-century mill buildings occupies almost a third of the North Adams downtown business region.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026
Zhu-Nowell is executive director and chief curator of Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum, which occupies a 1930s building renovated by British architect David Chipperfield in 2010.

— Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of occupies

Verb

Tiki bars aren’t without criticism, having occasionally been attacked as escapist fantasy that appropriates Hawaiian or Polynesian iconography.

— Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Summary The Caribbean is increasingly a global wellness hub, though Western influence often appropriates Afro-Indigenous practices.

— Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of appropriates

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commandeering

commandeers

commander

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“Commandeers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commandeers. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of commandeers

verb

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