seizes

verb

present tense third-person singular of seize
1
as in knows
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arrests
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in grabs
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly seized the escaping balloon just before it got out of reach

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in confiscates
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

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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 seizes Now, her family must reckon with the consequences as Agnes van Rhijn seizes an opportunity to regain her position. — Michael Schneider, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026 Sid is smart enough to sniff this out, and the show seizes the opportunity to raise the romantic stakes through an adorably British expression of mutual libidinousness. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026 That reporting revealed that the state frequently seizes money from legal settlements stemming from medical malpractice, police brutality, workplace injury and other wrongful death lawsuits. — Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026 Wilson, meanwhile, seizes on the opening to play teacher’s pet. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2026 Obreht is a writer who doesn’t rush into easy patterns of storytelling but seizes control from the jump. — Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026 Better, Cretton seizes small moments to put his stamp on this installment. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026 While Linda seizes, Bradley makes a break for it on a makeshift raft. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 21 May 2026 Dean seizes the moment to confess his feelings for Allie, hoping to turn their friends-with-benefits arrangement into something more. — Nasha Smith, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for seizes
  1. knows
  2. arrests
  3. grabs
  4. confiscates
  5. understands
  6. apprehends
  7. catches
  8. usurps
Verb
  • Anyone who knows more was asked to contact LASD's Arson and Explosives Detail general line at 323-881-7500.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Anyone who works with multiple monitors knows the pain of having cables cluttered chaotically around their desk.
    — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of knows
Verb
  • Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 May 2026
  • Devlin throws a punch at Stone when the chief arrests him for drunken driving.
    — Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Definition of arrests
Verb
  • Lithium grabs the spotlight, but cheap and abundant sodium has long held the key to large-scale energy storage.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Testing spoons stored in a manner where lip contact surface contamination could happen when employee grabs the spoon from container.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of grabs
Verb
  • Arriving from Barcelona, the local landlord, however, confiscates Fagas’ America rifle, given to him by his father.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Large swaths of the film are composed of close-ups of people’s faces or hands, giving seemingly mundane exchanges and gestures — say, a moment when Evans, unimpressed with Holmes’s egg-whisking technique, confiscates the bowl — greater weight.
    — Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of confiscates
Verb
  • Additional pressures In reaching her own historic milestone as the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft, Proctor understands that a historic moment like this carries not just incredible significance but a fair amount of personal pressure as well.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Still, Taiwan understands Washington’s determination to strengthen domestic semiconductor production and is willing to support that effort.
    — LIN CHIA-LUNG, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of understands
Verb
  • John Early, as anyone encountering his work soon apprehends, chooses the latter.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 7 June 2026
  • Though the team immediately apprehends a suspect, the Marshals end up taking criticism from both sides.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 21 Mar. 2026
Definition of apprehends
Verb
  • The single most suspicious thing Johnny does, though, is be at Carla’s while everyone else is at the office working late the night before court, not that anyone catches that.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
  • No security tool catches every threat, so continue checking unexpected messages carefully.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of catches
Verb
  • California courts have repeatedly refused to rewrite unconstitutional tax statutes on the grounds that this usurps the role of the Legislature or, in the case of an initiative, the people.
    — Jared Walczak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2026
  • After witnessing Sinner miss 16 break points against the same opponent on Friday, Alcaraz would have been forgiven for worrying that something similar might happen to him — especially against arguably tennis’s greatest escape artist, at least until the Spaniard usurps him.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Definition of usurps

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Cite this Entry

“Seizes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/seizes. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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