Synonyms of expropriation

expropriation

noun

(ˌ)ek-ˌsprō-prē-ˈā-shən 

as in takeover

the unlawful taking or withholding of something from the rightful owner under a guise of authority

the development of the colony involved expropriation of large tracts of fertile farmland from the natives

Synonyms & Similar Words

• takeover
• appropriation
• seizure
• annexation
• usurpation
• invasion
• theft
• preemption
• confiscation
• arrogation
• occupation
• occupancy
• commandeering
• misuse
• grab
• detainer
• embezzlement
• infringement
• repossession
• looting
• assumption
• impoundment
• misappropriation
• encroachment
• stripping
• sequestration
• peculation
• pillaging
• misapplication
• piracy
• defalcation
• despoilment
• dispossession
• trespass
• attachment
• ejection
• preoccupancy
• deforcement
• disfurnishment

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of expropriation

Malema heads the Economic Freedom Fighters, which advocates for the expropriation of mines, banks and land, and is notorious for starting brawls in parliament. — Jonathan Tirone, Bloomberg, 16 Apr. 2026

Conoco will not invest until there is way to recover some of the $12 billion that Venezuela owes the company from the expropriation of its assets, CEO Ryan Lance said Tuesday. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 24 Mar. 2026

Uncompensated seizure under the land-expropriation law can only be pursued under narrow circumstances—when land is unused or has been abandoned, for example—and the program seemingly has yet to seize any property. — Boyce Upholt, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026

Diaz-Canel did not acknowledge the country’s historically tenuous relationship with Cubans abroad, many who fled to Miami starting in the 1960s because of political persecution, property expropriation and economic instability after the Cuban revolution. — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026