as in to usurp
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peculate
Verb
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McCall’s banner also appears to cleverly usurp and subvert the aesthetics of European heraldry—indeed, its elegant design would look utterly correct on a beret, a medal, or a heater shield.—
Alex Jovanovich,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026 -
The War of the Two Caesars also serves as a nice mirror for everything going down with the Brotherhood, Elder Cleric Quintus still hellbent on usurping the Commonwealth despite the arrival of Kumail Nanjiani’s Paladin Xander Harkness, an emissary from that neck of the woods.—
Jack King,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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But the sons say their father embezzled money from Certified Brands and Electronics Row.—
Justin Wingerter,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
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Zia was sentenced to 17 years in jail in two separate corruption cases for misuse of power in embezzling funds meant for a charity named after her late husband.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
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On December 30, two suspects, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, were seized in Las Vegas.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
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Morfa said many of her Venezuelan clients have passport complications, either having their documents annulled by the Maduro administration, or expire, or get seized by ICE.—
Natalia Jaramillo,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But the company says those state-law claims are preempted by federal law.—
Zach Schonfeld,
The Hill,
12 Jan. 2026
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No matter how unpopular a modern dictator might be, there will be an important percentage of his population who have benefited from his rule, who will be aggrieved by his overthrow, and who, exposed to revenge from the rest, will attempt to preempt it.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Now, that motif was appropriated from the western regions on the Silk Road.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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Money will be deducted from state comptroller funds and money appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, and funds will be withheld for 10 years.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And, if federal officials determine a state has misused funds, they can be withheld, reduced or clawed back.—
Jillian Taylor,
StateImpact,
6 Jan. 2026
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Jacobson retired effective immediately on Monday after he was confronted by Mayor Justin Elicker and admitted to misusing the money, Elicker told reporters.—
David Matthews,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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
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Like Mao and Deng before him, Xi Jinping has arrogated to himself great power.—
JOSEPH TORIGIAN,
Foreign Affairs,
23 June 2025
Verb
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French authorities confiscated the cocaine.—
Jay Weaver
January 8,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2026
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While raising the kids together, Ruby and Hildebrandt abused the two youngest children with harsh punishments and torture, according to Ruby's journal that was later confiscated.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
4 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Peculate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peculate. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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