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

The verdict came just three days after regulators seized Ueno Bank, cutting nearly 3 million customers off from their savings and bank cards and setting off a political crisis. — Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026

The Digest Now that the Democratic Party has seized control of Congress, what does that mean for culture, including the debacle over the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and arts funding? — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Regulators had seized Ueno Bank three days earlier, sending shock waves through the financial system and setting off the country’s worst political crisis in more than a decade. — Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026

Washington seized control of Venezuela's oil exports in January after ousting former President Nicolás Maduro in a military raid. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026

In the case of another vessel, Skipper, attorneys for Burevestmarin said the Justice Department did not establish the correct venue and may have improperly seized the vessel. — Tom Winter, NBC news, 5 Nov. 2026

Italian authorities seized the sailboats, and the activists were reported to prosecutors for allegedly disrupting a public service. — Asra Q. Nomani, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026

The pirates, arriving in two small boats, quickly seized control and stopped the engine. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026

Afghanistan was the world’s biggest opium producer and a major source of heroin in Europe and Asia when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026