as in to seize
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
the thoughtless teenagers had preempted front-row seats that were reserved for the guests of honor
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of preempt
Apparently, using the two ingredients in tandem can cause irritation, but that hasn’t been the case for me—in fact, the moisturizer seems to preempt the drying that can sometimes occur with retinol.
—
Kiana Murden, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2025
The bill comes ahead of parliamentary elections that are required to be held by April, with lawmakers seeking to preempt any potential external interference.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025
As set forth below, the claims are either preempted, filed in the wrong tribunal, or defective as a matter of law because CAA lacks standing to bring the claim.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2025
In the aftermath of Appomattox, ex-Confederates moved quickly, using propaganda, fraud, and terrorism, to preempt Black freedom and impose a system akin to slavery.
— Made By History, Time, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preempt
Kiana Murden, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2025
The bill comes ahead of parliamentary elections that are required to be held by April, with lawmakers seeking to preempt any potential external interference.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025
As set forth below, the claims are either preempted, filed in the wrong tribunal, or defective as a matter of law because CAA lacks standing to bring the claim.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2025
In the aftermath of Appomattox, ex-Confederates moved quickly, using propaganda, fraud, and terrorism, to preempt Black freedom and impose a system akin to slavery.
— Made By History, Time, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preempt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preempt
Verb
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Fifty years ago this week Communist forces seized the city of Saigon bringing an end to the Vietnam war.—
Greg Dixon,
NPR,
29 Apr. 2025
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Officials seized less than 50 pounds of fentanyl along the U.S. northern border in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the AP, citing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data.—
Mohammed Soliman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The president has usurped the treaty power from the Senate by calling treaties executive agreements.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
1 May 2025
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But digital technology has been used to obscure and usurp the truth about their lives.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The pair collaborated on searching freight shipments, storage units and vehicles to confiscate drugs, targeting marijuana in particular because it was stored locally rather than sent to the DEA, according to officials.—
Olivia Lloyd,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2025
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Some of them have taken advantage of the departure of foreign and multinational corporations from Russia by buying depreciated assets or simply confiscating them, generally with the support of powerful insiders, such as the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.—
ALEXANDER GABUEV,
Foreign Affairs,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The game ended appropriately with Minnesota’s Naz Reid grabbing an offensive rebound off a Timberwolves missed free throw attempt and hugging the ball like Minnesota hugged this victory.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
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Keep scrolling for more comfortable and packable flats to grab this season from Amazon, Nordstrom, Zappos, and more—starting at $25.—
Aly Walansky,
Travel + Leisure,
1 May 2025
Verb
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The Pacers will return home for Games 5 and 7 (if necessary), which means the Bucks would need to steal two road wins to advance.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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The return would be enough to steal Abbott from the Reds.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Militant violence has afflicted Kashmir, claimed in full but ruled in part by both Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan, since the anti-Indian insurgency began in 1989.—
Fayaz Bukhari,
USA Today,
24 Apr. 2025
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The disease was also spreading swiftly, infecting hundreds and claiming dozens of lives within a few weeks.—
Peter Sands,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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That converts to a 0.093% blood alcohol content by volume.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2025
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This vac is also a hybrid model that converts into a handheld option for more portable or exact cleaning needs, plus charging is made particularly easy thanks to a wall-mountable charging port.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Amad’s second goal of the game comes from one such situation, with Antony occupying Taylor Harwood-Bellis.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
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That proposal would see Moscow de facto control parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia occupies but does not fully control.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preempt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preempt. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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