preempted

verb

past tense of preempt
as in seized
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 preempted The rollout was preempted when hackers leaked apparent footage online this week. — Russ Bynum, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026 In May, the Second Circuit ruled that New York’s law was preempted by federal regulations, specifically the National Bank Act. — P.r. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026 Declare the rules preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill under the Supremacy Clause. — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026 The California Restaurant Association challenged the ban in federal court, saying the city’s ban preempted Energy Policy and Conservation Act rules on energy use of gas appliances, including those in households and restaurant kitchens. — Cam'ron Hardy, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 On July 8, a federal judge in Manhattan denied Kalshi's bid to block New York's regulators, holding the state's gambling laws are not preempted as applied to sports contracts. — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026 This week wasn’t a total loss for SerpApi and Perplexity AI, which did manage to get Reddit’s unjust enrichment and unfair competition claims tossed, since they were both preempted by the Copyright Act. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 But the Court finds the state law is likely preempted in many respects. — Samantha Elkins, NBC news, 27 July 2026 Pierron, who recalled not being able to watch the 1986 World Cup final in Olathe because it had been preempted by a telethon, bought season tickets right away. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preempted
  1. seized
  2. claimed
  3. confiscated
  4. usurped
  5. occupied
  6. grabbed
  7. assumed
  8. appropriated
Verb
  • Many politicians have either seized on the outrage or scrambled to shield themselves from the growing anger.
    — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The unrest comes as authorities tighten control over its uranium sector, having seized ⁠assets from ​France’s Orano.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of seized
Verb
  • The declaration stated that White identified as a transgender woman and claimed eligibility under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.
    — Jackson Thompson , Patricia Babcock McGraw OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Across the archipelago’s more than seven thousand islands, countless sovereign communities once bloomed with distinct languages and traditions, until Spain claimed them all under a single name.
    — Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of claimed
Verb
  • One order prevented federal agents from moving detainees out of state within seventy-two hours of being arrested; another demanded that the government return confiscated belongings to released detainees.
    — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • When referee Rick Knox confiscated the belt, Christian loaded up his wrist brace with a wrench.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of confiscated
Verb
  • Howie Roseman acquired Bigsby after Week 1, and Bigsby eventually usurped Shipley as Barkley’s top backup.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • When Shuja was usurped in Afghanistan by a rival brother, Shuja’s wife, Wa’fa Begum, fled to Lahore for safety.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of usurped
Verb
  • But there’s plenty to keep kids occupied here from pool toys and rafts to beachside games like jenga and bocce.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026
  • These ideas flew over our heads as kids, and we were mostly occupied by the pretty lights and awesome fight scenes.
    — George Yang, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of occupied
Verb
  • Clark then went back to his golf bag, grabbed another iron, and placed it behind the ball.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The one that has grabbed most of the headlines is its pull back from LIV.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • The machinery switches on earlier than long assumed, as brain scans of infants reveal.
    — Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026
  • For the latter, establish what is known, what is assumed, what still needs to be understood and what requires testing.
    — Mustafa Shreet, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of assumed
Verb
  • The initial contract between Norman and Mental Health Association Oklahoma was for one year and carried a $383,633 price tag, with $333,633 appropriated from Opioid Settlement Funds.
    — Jake Ramsey, Oklahoma Watch, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The Arkansas General Assembly then appropriated $50 million for site development efforts over two years, according to the commission.
    — Dylan Sherman, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of appropriated

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preempted
preempting
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Cite this Entry

“Preempted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preempted. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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