confiscate

American  

[kon-fuh-skeyt, kuhn-fis-kit] / ˈkɒn fəˌskeɪt, kənˈfɪs kɪt /

verb (used with object)

confiscated, confiscating

1. to seize as forfeited to the public domain; appropriate, by way of penalty, for public use.

2. to seize by or as if by authority; appropriate summarily.

   The border guards confiscated our movie cameras.

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adjective

1. seized or appropriated, as for public use.

confiscate British  

/ ˈkɒnfɪˌskeɪt /

verb

1. to seize (property), esp for public use and esp by way of a penalty

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adjective

1. seized or confiscated; forfeit

2. having lost or been deprived of property through confiscation

Other Word Forms

• confiscatable
  adjective
• confiscation
  noun
• confiscator
  noun
• reconfiscate
  verb (used with object)
• unconfiscated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of confiscate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin confiscātus “seized,” past participle of confiscāre “to seize for the public treasury,” equivalent to con- con- + fisc(us) “basket, moneybag, public treasury” ( see fiscal) + -āre, verb infinitive suffix

Explanation

To confiscate means to take away temporarily for security or legal reasons. It implies an act by an authority upon one of less power. If you use your cell phone in class, the teacher might confiscate it for the day. Confiscate derives from the Latin confiscat, meaning "to store in a chest, or give to the treasury." In school, if the boys begin throwing pencils at each other, the teacher will confiscate them and "store” them in her desk. She’ll return them, however, when the boys need to take the test. That’s assuming they have not blinded each other beforehand.

Example Sentences

“Those planes belong to the syndicate, and everybody has a share. Confiscate? How can you possibly confiscate your own private property? Confiscate, indeed! I’ve never heard anything so depraved in my whole life.”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Confiscate, kon′fis-kāt, or kon-fis′-, v.t. to appropriate to the state, as a penalty: to take possession of.—adj. forfeited to the public treasury.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Confiscate all her goods unto the Crown, Thereby disburdening many heavie taxes Impos'd upon the commons of the land.

From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 4 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)

Congress was not long in seeing the suicidal tendency of such a policy, and on the 6th of August, 1861, passed "An Act to Confiscate Property Used for Insurrectionary Purposes."

From History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880. Vol. 2 (of 2) Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens by Williams, George Washington

Confiscate it and ruin him in the bargain?

From Caribbee by Hoover, Thomas

Related Words

• appropriate
• expropriate
• impound