confiscation

[ kon-fuh-skey-shuhn ]
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noun
  1. the act, as a penalty, of seizing or appropriating something for public use or for ownership by the state: The government introduced a bill allowing the confiscation of property belonging to foreign states.

  2. the act of seizing something by or as if by authority: In order to avoid confiscation of their cell phones under the strict new rule, many teens only became more secretive about using them.

Origin of confiscation

1
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin cōnfiscātiōn-, stem of cōnfiscātiō “seizure,” from cōnfiscāt(us) “seized” (past participle of cōnfiscāre “to seize for the public treasury”; see confiscate ) + -iō -ion

Other words from confiscation

  • non·con·fis·ca·tion, noun
  • pro·con·fis·ca·tion, noun

Words Nearby confiscation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use confiscation in a sentence