expropriated

verb

past tense of expropriate
1
as in seized
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right dissidents were shot, and their lands expropriated under his regime

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

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3
as in confiscated
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

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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 expropriated All were expropriated and razed to the ground. — ABC News, 18 Apr. 2026 Chávez had ordered all of Venezuela’s ports to be expropriated. — Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 27 May 2026 Much of the land thus expropriated was then sold cheaply to the Japanese. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Mar. 2026 After all, Exxon had its oil assets expropriated in Venezuela less than 20 years ago. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026 After the 1959 revolution, the state expropriated the ground floor. — Lydia Bell, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Dec. 2024 Both companies have filed arbitration cases against Venezuela seeking billions of dollars in compensation for assets that were expropriated by the government. — Pia Singh, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2026 Much of that early ’Lo gear was boosted from department stores across the New York tristate Area, and ‘Lo Heads ran the risk of their own spoils being expropriated back home. — Eric Twardzik, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2026 Gray says the project, revolving around an elderly woman seeking revenge on a foreign company that expropriated her land to build a luxury ski resort, offers international casting and co-producer angles but that the configuration will depend on Kawawada’s artistic vision. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 12 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expropriated
  1. seized
  2. evicted
  3. confiscated
  4. usurped
  5. dispossessed
  6. converted
  7. deprived
  8. appropriated
Verb
  • Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who voted against the proposal in mid-June, voiced fears that the list of noncitizen voters would immediately be seized by federal immigration authorities.
    — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
  • Meanwhile, Russia’s military on Saturday claimed to have seized the city of Kostiantynivka, a key defensive hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
    — Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 4 July 2026
Definition of seized
Verb
  • Landlords in Durban and Johannesburg also evicted foreign tenants illegally to avoid further trouble, witnesses alleged.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026
  • In the early 1960s he was evicted from Knock John, another sea fort closer to Britain’s coast.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 June 2026
Definition of evicted
Verb
  • The most obvious concession is compensating Cubans and Americans whose assets were confiscated during the revolution.
    — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026
  • With the charges dismissed, Patel will no longer face prosecution and is expected to receive his passport back shortly after it was confiscated by authorities.
    — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
Definition of confiscated
Verb
  • Congress’s celebration, planned for a decade, has been usurped by the president’s celebration, funded by private donors and featuring a political speech by himself.
    — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 1 July 2026
  • The wedding broke the record for the largest single-location mass wedding at the time, until it was usurped in 2023, per Guinness World Records.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 1 July 2026
Definition of usurped
Verb
  • On two occasions, a Spanish player remained on the floor after being strongly dispossessed, with Uruguay fashioning chances for Nunez, reintroduced to the starting line-up as Bielsa’s only change after the Cape Verde draw.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 28 June 2026
  • He was tackled and dispossessed with the ball on a trajectory to the goal.
    — Monica Alba, NBC news, 24 June 2026
Definition of dispossessed
Verb
  • Bellingham scored two goals 98 seconds apart in the first half, and six minutes after Jarell Quansah was sent off, Kane converted a penalty to restore England’s two-goal lead.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • Half the elegant stable block (converted into a studio by Beaton) and a cozy dairy house remained.
    — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 5 July 2026
Definition of converted
Verb
  • That side was a bit of an outlier generally, unfancied after a betting scandal had deprived them of their best striker, Paolo Rossi, for two years before the tournament.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 28 June 2026
  • Plus, participants from the UK Biobank tend to be healthier and less socioeconomically deprived than the general population, which may limit how well the findings apply to everyone.
    — Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of deprived
Verb
  • Sununu, who formerly served as governor of New Hampshire, urged Congress to find more money to overhaul the air traffic control system — on top of the billions lawmakers appropriated last year to upgrade communications and radar equipment.
    — Joel Rose, NPR, 1 July 2026
  • The Legislature appropriated $5 million in one-time funding, so next year, lawmakers will have to decide whether to allocate additional money.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 1 July 2026
Definition of appropriated

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Cite this Entry

“Expropriated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expropriated. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on expropriated

Nglish: Translation of expropriated for Spanish Speakers

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