Synonyms of seizing

seizing

verb

present participle of seize

1

as in knowing

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

• knowing
• understanding
• grasping
• recognizing
• deciphering
• seeing
• comprehending
• appreciating
• getting
• realizing
• perceiving
• sensing
• apprehending
• assimilating
• making
• conceiving
• digging
• registering
• discerning
• beholding
• catching
• intuiting
• decoding
• cognizing
• tumbling (to)
• compassing
• twigging
• making out
• catching on (to)
• savvying
• grokking
• absorbing
• digesting
• picking up on
• fathoming
• cottoning (to or on to)
• penetrating
• taking in
• piercing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missing
• mistaking
• misinterpreting
• misreading
• misconstruing
• misunderstanding
• misconceiving
• misapprehending
• misperceiving

2

as in arresting

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

• arresting
• grabbing
• apprehending
• restraining
• detaining
• capturing
• snatching
• pinching
• nailing
• nicking
• committing
• nabbing
• running in
• pulling in
• catching
• busting
• jailing
• collaring
• imprisoning
• trapping
• picking up
• incarcerating
• snaring
• confining
• grappling
• holding
• hooking
• bagging
• getting
• landing
• handcuffing
• snapping (up)
• binding
• locking (up)
• interning
• shackling
• fettering
• remanding
• jugging
• enchaining
• immuring
• manacling
• trammeling
• rearresting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discharging
• releasing
• springing
• freeing
• liberating
• loosening
• emancipating
• loosing
• unchaining
• unbinding

3

as in grabbing

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

• grabbing
• snatching
• catching
• capturing
• getting
• landing
• trapping
• snagging
• nabbing
• snaring
• grappling
• corralling
• hooking
• bagging
• nailing
• rapping
• netting
• collaring
• taking hold (of)
• copping
• snapping (up)
• grasping
• arresting
• glomming
• holding
• clutching
• detaining
• nobbling
• securing
• apprehending
• gripping
• clasping
• roping
• cornering
• lassoing
• kidnapping
• abducting
• gloving
• rending
• wresting
• entrapping
• ensnaring
• baying
• haltering
• entangling
• fisting
• fastening (on)
• latching (on or onto)
• enmeshing
• meshing
• spiriting (away or off)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missing
• releasing
• discharging
• freeing
• liberating
• dropping
• loosening
• unhanding

4

as in confiscating

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

• confiscating
• grabbing
• stealing
• usurping
• converting
• occupying
• claiming
• appropriating
• annexing
• snatching
• commandeering
• invading
• preempting
• pirating
• expropriating
• arrogating
• assuming
• pressing
• taking over
• looting
• attaching
• grasping
• repossessing
• impounding
• sequestering
• encroaching
• despoiling
• pillaging
• misusing
• infringing
• wrenching
• wresting
• collaring
• trespassing
• misapplying
• misappropriating
• preoccupying
• embezzling
• peculating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of seizing

Grapevine finds a win against Eagle Mountain Grapevine football moved to 1-1 in District 3-5A Division II, seizing a 34-14 victory over Fort Worth Eagle Mountain on Friday. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Oct. 2026

With Pharrell Williams steering the production ship, the Athens, Georgia native wasted no time in seizing the opportunity to create his most cohesive, genre-bending body of work to date. — Mikey Fresh, VIBE.com, 9 Oct. 2026

This tension over a movie in a small Montana town appeared to be a microcosm of immigration and culture-war drama seizing communities all over the nation. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

Police have broken up a sophisticated drug ring in Miami Beach, seizing tens of thousands of dollars in cash and dozens of pounds of narcotics, authorities said. — Ted Scouten, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

But Atlanta outscored New York 32-15 in the third quarter, seizing control with relentless defensive pressure. — Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Troop movements over the past couple of weeks indicate the group is concentrating on seizing the southwestern highlands, which could then open the way for a push toward the government’s capital, Aden. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026

Certainly, China seizing the global lead on AI would represent an alarming setback to American strategic and economic interests. — Stephen Collins, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026

Their ruling states that investigators should not have cited penal law as justification for seizing the artwork, and reproaches a lower court’s previous approval of their methods. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 21 Sep. 2026