expropriate

[ eks-proh-pree-eyt ]
See synonyms for: expropriateexpropriation on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ex·pro·pri·at·ed, ex·pro·pri·at·ing.
  1. to take possession of, especially for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner: The government expropriated the land for a recreation area.

  2. to dispossess (a person) of ownership: The revolutionary government expropriated the landowners from their estates.

  1. to take (something) from another's possession for one's own use: He expropriated my ideas for his own article.

Origin of expropriate

1
1605–15; from Medieval Latin expropriātus “separated from one's own” (past participle of expropriāre ), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + propri(āre) “to appropriate” (derivative of proprius proper) + -ātus -ate1

Other words from expropriate

  • ex·pro·pri·a·ble [eks-proh-pree-uh-buhl], /ɛksˈproʊ pri ə bəl/, adjective
  • ex·pro·pri·a·tion, noun
  • ex·pro·pri·a·tion·ist, adjective, noun
  • ex·pro·pri·a·tor, noun
  • de-ex·pro·pri·a·tion, noun
  • un·ex·pro·pri·a·ble, adjective
  • un·ex·pro·pri·at·ed, adjective

Words that may be confused with expropriate

Words Nearby expropriate

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

How to use expropriate in a sentence

  • The old theory was that the state would expropriate this industry and become the employer of all engaged in it.

  • In taking over the waterways the Realm acquires the right to expropriate, to fix rates, and to administer the river police system.

    The New Germany | George Young
  • Our watchword must be: to arm the proletariat so that it may defeat, expropriate, and disarm the bourgeoisie.

    Bolshevism | John Spargo
  • The State makes him pay taxes; it ventures to expropriate him for the public good.

    Anarchism and Socialism | George Plechanoff

British Dictionary definitions for expropriate

expropriate

/ (ɛksˈprəʊprɪˌeɪt) /


verb(tr)
  1. to deprive (an owner) of (property), esp by taking it for public use: See also eminent domain

Origin of expropriate

1
C17: from Medieval Latin expropriāre to deprive of possessions, from proprius own

Derived forms of expropriate

  • expropriable, adjective
  • expropriation, noun
  • expropriator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012