peculate

verb

Definition of peculatenext
as in to usurp

Related Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for peculate
  1. usurp
  2. embezzle
  3. seize
  4. preempt
  5. appropriate
  6. misuse
  7. arrogate
  8. confiscate
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
  • For the most part, California has declined to usurp local governments’ power to decide what is built where, which has yielded relentless development of wildlands.
    — Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of usurp
Verb
  • The Seoul Central District Court convicted Han, widow of church founder Sun Myung Moon, of violating the political funds act, bribery and embezzling church funds, the court said in a statement.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The former state senator was sentenced to two years for embezzling funds.
    — Suzanne Van Atten, AJC.com, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of embezzle
Verb
  • But the truth of it is that Sharaa forced his hand by seizing swathes of the SDF’s territory in a lightning offensive in January.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Who knows more of the injustice of the world than the girl who saw her town seized by a white-supremacist coup, the Wilmington massacre, in 1898?
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of seize
Verb
  • As discussed in more detail below, the NBA, like other pro leagues, are contractually designed to preempt potential litigation brought by teams.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The designer simply accepted the honor from Wintour and Met Costume Institute chief curator Andrew Bolton, who’d prepared for some backlash by working with Galliano to preempt the inevitable criticism.
    — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of preempt
Verb
  • Congressional leaders turned to a short-term funding patch after bipartisan negotiations in the Senate to appropriate money for the next full fiscal year broke down.
    — Sam Gringlas, NPR, 1 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of appropriate
Verb
  • In the four-page letter, LeVota accused Garza of misusing county resources and trying to build a lawsuit against him before offering her a separation agreement.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • In Sarasota in August, a police officer was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for misusing the license plate reader system.
    — Ana Goñi-Lessan, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of misuse
Verb
  • What shouldn’t happen is for the federal government to arrogate to itself nationalization powers over what fans are so passionate about.
    — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
  • But all of those ideas for spending or tax rebates, again, all of those are congressional authority that the president is arrogating to himself—something else that would have startled the founders of the country all those 250 years ago.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
Definition of arrogate
Verb
  • Additional devices were reportedly confiscated at James' home, officials said.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Lebanese soldiers deployed there are tasked with preventing armed non-state actors, like Hezbollah, from coming in; confiscating any weapons and remnants of war; and restoring state authority.
    — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of confiscate
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Pecksniffian
peculate
peculated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Peculate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peculate. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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