confiscation

American  

[kon-fuh-skey-shuhn] / ˌkɒn fəˈskeɪ ʃən /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• nonconfiscation
  noun
• proconfiscation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of confiscation

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 ( def. )) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

This holds out a troubling prospect: Either AI progress will stop as investors abandon it, or progress will be funded by government, the only user allowed access to cutting-edge models—essentially confiscation by other means.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

In practice, Lord Young is likely to set a confiscation order reflecting the total benefit from the embezzlement and the motorhome's residual value would simply count toward satisfying that broader order.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

"Those who use property tainted by a past confiscation," Thomas said, are "liable to any United States national who owns a claim to that property."

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

The confiscation of the cash and gold and brief detention of the employees is the most severe step Orbán has taken yet in his dispute with Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

I really should get back and tell her; she is the one who will be affected the most by Frightful’s confiscation.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Related Words

• appropriation
• expropriation