1
2
as in to evict
to end the occupancy or possession of the state will have to expropriate scores of homeowners in order to build the new road

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in to confiscate
to take ownership or control of (something) by right of one's authority plans by the city to expropriate entire blocks of houses in order to bulldoze them for expansion of the airport

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of expropriate His cardinal sin was nationalizing (not expropriating) the hugely profitable Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1951 which British Prime Minister Winston Churchill postulated was integral to the British Navy. Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 15 May 2025 However, a law passed by South Africa earlier this year does not allow land to be expropriated without an agreement with the owner. Hannah Demissie, ABC News, 12 May 2025 Since 2022, the Ukrainian government has proceeded systematically to expropriate the assets of these companies, diminishing the interests of private investors, and, in the end, decreasing the amount of energy actually produced. Daniel Markind, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025 About a dozen European companies have had their Russian subsidiaries expropriated by presidential decree, including Danish brewer Carlsberg and Finnish utility Fortum and the Kremlin has warned of more asset seizures. Anna Hirtenstein and Alexander Marrow, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for expropriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expropriate
Verb
  • Marino revealed to This American Life that during the early days of filming the reality show, Butler approached him about selling large amounts of marijuana that had been seized in drug raids by Wielsch.
    Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 22 July 2025
  • Investigators noted that one of the devices that was seized could not be examined because it was encrypted, the warrant affidavit said.
    Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • This left just Amy and Will, one of whom was evicted after a unanimous vote.
    Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 28 July 2025
  • The solution: evict those states that are not true believers.
    STACIE E. GODDARD, Foreign Affairs, 28 July 2025
Verb
  • From 2022 through 2024, law enforcement officials in California confiscated 139,017 guns used in crimes with identifiable serial numbers, according to the DOJ’s crime guns report.
    Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 12 July 2025
  • No charges have been pressed against Stone, but her family said her phone was confiscated.
    Joey Safchik, NBC news, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp the President from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people.
    Dan Gooding Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
  • Powell – a more effective version of the combo guard archetype that Rozier is classified under – seems poised to usurp the 10-year veteran on the Heat’s depth chart.
    Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Verb
  • Over the course of several weeks in June and July, CNN followed a group of Palestinian women facing an awful choice between risking their own lives, which could deprive their families of their only remaining provider, or watching their children starve.
    Sarah El Sirgany, CNN Money, 30 July 2025
  • The loss of closer Emmanuel Clase to non-disciplinary leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting did not simply deprive the Cleveland Guardians of their top trade chip.
    Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • In the pour, this hybridization results in a sweeter, fruitier nose – raspberry, banana and apricot steal top-notes from the underlying malt.
    Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
  • The university's Davidge Hall once housed a small grayscale portrait of its namesake, dating to the 1800s, but that painting was stolen in the 1990s.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 July 2025
Verb
  • Indigenous and colonized people paid the price, dispossessed of their lands.
    Michael Albertus, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
  • He was not dispossessed at all in the match and was generally a menace to SKC’s players.
    Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 19 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Leave your troubles behind and grab a lime, because Thursday is National Tequila Day.
    Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 25 July 2025
  • Concerned, the roommates grabbed golf clubs from one of the first-floor bedrooms and checked the house for a possible intruder.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 24 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Expropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expropriate. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

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