confiscation

[kon-fuh-skey-shuhn]

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.

Other Word Forms

• nonconfiscation noun
• proconfiscation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of confiscation¹

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”; confiscate ( def. ) ) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

Photos show the statue bearing scratches and dents from its prior confiscation.

From Salon

"The authorities forbid us to fish in that area of the platform, under penalty of confiscation or even destruction of our fishing equipment if we access it," Mr Fall tells the BBC.

From BBC

"There has been no real education about healthy use, just confiscation."

From BBC

That didn't help much, however, as the meeting devolved into an extended confrontation over South African land confiscation policies.

From BBC

The policy involved the confiscation of trillions of old naira notes and their replacement with new notes for the highest denominations.

From BBC

Related Words

• appropriation 
• expropriation