confiscate

[ verb kon-fuh-skeyt; adjective kuhn-fis-kit ]

See synonyms for: confiscate confiscated confiscation on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing.

to seize as forfeited to the public domain; appropriate, by way of penalty, for public use.
to seize by or as if by authority; appropriate summarily: The border guards confiscated our movie cameras.

adjective

seized or appropriated, as for public use.

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

Other words from confiscate

con·fis·cat·a·ble, adjective
con·fis·ca·tion [kon-fuh-skey-shuhn], /ˌkɒn fəˈskeɪ ʃən/, noun
con·fis·ca·tor, noun
re·con·fis·cate, verb (used with object), re·con·fis·cat·ed, re·con·fis·cat·ing.
un·con·fis·cat·ed, adjective

Words Nearby confiscate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use confiscate in a sentence

Hundreds of state police and other law enforcement officers converged on Mink Slide early the next morning, forcing residents from their houses and confiscating their guns, jewelry and money.
America’s first post-World War II race riot led to the near-lynching of Thurgood Marshall | Chris Lamb | February 25, 2021 | Washington Post
Yet the federal government continues to treat it like a schedule one narcotic — the same classification for heroin — and so sometimes its agents confiscate large amounts of product and cash.
Morning Report: Border Patrol Is Tripping Up Legal Pot Operations | Voice of San Diego | June 29, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
Samuels said it would make sense if Border Patrol just logged shipments from state-licensed businesses and requested the Certificate of Analysis so they could keep track them, rather than confiscate the product.
Businesses Say Border Patrol Is Seizing Legal Cannabis Between San Diego, Imperial | Jesse Marx and Maya Srikrishnan | June 29, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
Josh Swider, CEO of InfiniteCAL, a testing lab in San Diego, said one of his sampling technicians was stopped at the end of May and 14 samples of hemp were confiscated.
Businesses Say Border Patrol Is Seizing Legal Cannabis Between San Diego, Imperial | Jesse Marx and Maya Srikrishnan | June 29, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
Four days earlier, on June 24, 1969, the police, led by Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine, raided the Stonewall Inn and began arresting bar employees and confiscating liquor.
How the New York Media Covered The Stonewall Riots | LGBTQ-Editor | June 23, 2020 | No Straight News

British Dictionary definitions for confiscate

confiscate

/ (ˈkɒnfɪˌskeɪt) /

verb(tr)

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

adjective

seized or confiscated; forfeit
having lost or been deprived of property through confiscation

Origin of confiscate

C16: from Latin confiscāre to seize for the public treasury, from fiscus basket, treasury

Derived forms of confiscate

confiscation, noun
confiscator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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