confiscate
[ verb kon-fuh-skeyt; adjective kuhn-fis-kit ]
/ verb ˈkɒn fəˌskeɪt; adjective kənˈfɪs kɪt /
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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.
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Origin of confiscate
OTHER WORDS FROM confiscate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use confiscate in a sentence
Anti-state charges remain common across the globeKurdish journalist Dindar Karataş was detained and his equipment confiscated in November in the eastern city of Van.
Journalists faced new threats in 2020. These 10 and countless others deserve justice|lbelanger225|January 4, 2021|FortuneThe Baltimore law firm went to court to challenge the search, saying thousands of electronic files unrelated to the investigation were confiscated.
Two prominent Md. lawyers accused of conspiring to block federal money laundering investigation|Ann Marimow|December 18, 2020|Washington PostOne FDA study found that 85 percent of confiscated drugs that were supposedly imported from Canada were actually manufactured in 27 other countries.
Methamphetamine seizures rose 41 percent, heroin was up 181 percent and CBP confiscated 300 percent more fentanyl than in October 2019, he said.
Immigration arrests along the Mexico border surged again in October|Nick Miroff|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
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
Derived forms of confiscate
confiscation, nounconfiscator, nounWord Origin for confiscate
C16: from Latin confiscāre to seize for the public treasury, from fiscus basket, treasury
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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