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

Weafer said Russia may be seizing control of foreign companies in anticipation of a deal to secure Russian assets frozen abroad. — David McHugh, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Agents raided his Ogden home, seizing six live pipe bombs, bomb-making gear, and two rifles. — Staff, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Polls close and ballot counting begins As polling stations close Tuesday evening, local election officials and voting rights groups are bracing for the prospect of federal officials possibly seizing election materials and voting machines. — Philip Wang, Time, 28 Oct. 2026

For a black artist like myself, forming and writing songs for a boy band is a form of code ditching, a way of seizing aesthetics and timbres that have been unduly withheld from my predecessors. — Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

Banks in New York are seizing the opportunity to offer a solution that could shield Chinese customers from their country's tax man. — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026

Even rarer is a series seizing on the opportunity to make a quantum leap several years into its run. — Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026

The Kremlin has also shown little sign of shifting from its hard-line demands, which include seizing Ukraine’s entire eastern Donbas region. — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 21 Oct. 2026

Police in Guinea-Bissau raided the offices of Danish researchers on Monday, seizing doses of hepatitis B vaccine intended for a vaccine trial for newborns. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026