confiscation

American  

[kon-fuh-skay-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

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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. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

confiscation

Whether the confiscation was a security snafu or a defiance of the court order remains to be seen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

The Danish artist behind "Pillar of Shame", Jens Galschiot, called the outcome of the trial and the statue's potential confiscation "outrageous".

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The figures cover those larger illegal sites for which the Environment Agency is responsible, and do not include confiscation orders for smaller fly-tipping offences, which fall under the remit of local authorities.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Gold, he wrote, protects citizens from the confiscation of wealth through inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 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

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Related Words

• appropriation
• expropriation

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