Synonyms of seized

seized

verb

past tense of seize

1

as in understood

to have a clear idea of

a critic with a sharp intellect that is able to seize the most subtle nuances of a work of art

Synonyms & Similar Words

• understood
• knew
• grasped
• recognized
• saw
• deciphered
• comprehended
• appreciated
• got
• realized
• sensed
• apprehended
• discerned
• conceived
• perceived
• dug
• beheld
• made
• caught
• registered
• assimilated
• made out
• caught on (to)
• decoded
• picked up on
• tumbled (to)
• twigged
• savvied
• compassed
• intuited
• absorbed
• grokked
• cottoned (to or on to)
• digested
• cognized
• penetrated
• took in
• fathomed
• pierced

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missed
• misunderstood
• misinterpreted
• mistook
• misconstrued
• misread
• misconceived
• misapprehended
• misperceived

2

as in arrested

to take or keep under one's control by authority of law

seized the leaders of one of the city's major drug rings

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arrested
• grabbed
• apprehended
• detained
• restrained
• captured
• snatched
• pinched
• nabbed
• nicked
• nailed
• caught
• committed
• jailed
• pulled in
• busted
• ran in
• collared
• picked up
• imprisoned
• trapped
• incarcerated
• landed
• confined
• snared
• grappled
• held
• hooked
• snapped (up)
• handcuffed
• bound
• interned
• bagged
• got
• locked (up)
• shackled
• fettered
• remanded
• rearrested
• jugged
• manacled
• immured
• enchained
• trammeled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discharged
• released
• freed
• liberated
• sprang
• loosened
• loosed
• emancipated
• unbound
• unchained

3

as in grabbed

to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly

seized the escaping balloon just before it got out of reach

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grabbed
• caught
• snatched
• captured
• landed
• got
• nabbed
• trapped
• snagged
• netted
• snared
• corralled
• hooked
• grappled
• rapped
• snapped (up)
• bagged
• took hold (of)
• nailed
• copped
• arrested
• collared
• glommed
• held
• grasped
• clutched
• apprehended
• detained
• nobbled
• secured
• gripped
• kidnapped
• roped
• cornered
• gloved
• clasped
• wrested
• abducted
• lassoed
• ensnared
• entrapped
• fastened (on)
• rent
• fisted
• enmeshed
• entangled
• haltered
• meshed
• latched (on or onto)
• bayed
• spirited (away or off)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missed
• released
• discharged
• freed
• liberated
• dropped
• loosened
• unhanded

4

as in confiscated

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right

Richard III seized the English throne from his brother Edward in 1483

Synonyms & Similar Words

• confiscated
• grabbed
• stole
• converted
• usurped
• claimed
• occupied
• appropriated
• commandeered
• invaded
• annexed
• snatched
• pirated
• assumed
• preempted
• expropriated
• arrogated
• pressed
• looted
• took over
• attached
• impounded
• grasped
• repossessed
• despoiled
• sequestered
• wrenched
• pillaged
• encroached
• wrested
• infringed
• trespassed
• preoccupied
• misused
• embezzled
• collared
• misapplied
• misappropriated
• peculated

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of seized

Masterson’s detractors have seized on the rebrand as an attempt to minimize his connection to Trump in a year when national Republicans worry the president’s polarizing leadership could cost the party majorities in the House and Senate. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2026

Agents also seized a semiautomatic handgun and $11,800 in cash, the outlet reported. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 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

During last year’s raids on homes owned by Kadgien and her sister in Mar del Plata, Argentine police also seized two 19th-century paintings, along with other prints and engravings. — Sergio Farella, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Some politicians, including Nigel Farage of hard-right party Reform UK, have seized on the issue. — ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

In a photo-finish, Spain just held off the fast charge of the Danes, although in the third race Nicolai Sehested seized the early initiative. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Online, many trial observers seized on those gaps, claiming Clancy was failed by a system that expected an unstable patient to carry her critical information from one provider to the next. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2026

Many politicians have either seized on the outrage or scrambled to shield themselves from the growing anger. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026