confiscate

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˈkɑnfɪˌskeɪt/ UK /ˈkɒnfɪˌskeɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to seize property by authority

Customs officers will confiscate any undeclared goods.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to seize property by authority seize appropriate impound expropriate commandeer sequester requisition

Opposites

return restore release

Word family

Forms confiscationconfiscations

Derived forms confiscationconfiscatorconfiscatoryconfiscable

Related forms fiscal

Etymology

From Latin confiscatus, past participle of confiscare ('to lay up in a chest, transfer to the public treasury'), from con- ('together') + fiscus ('treasury, public purse, basket').

confiscare Latin fiscus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# confiscate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkɑnfɪˌskeɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒnfɪˌskeɪt/

## Meanings
1. to seize property by authority

## Examples
- Customs officers will confiscate any undeclared goods.

## Synonyms
- seize
- appropriate
- impound
- expropriate
- commandeer
- sequester
- requisition

## Antonyms
- return
- restore
- release

## Derived Forms
- confiscation
- confiscator
- confiscatory
- confiscable

## Related Forms
- fiscal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: confiscare
- Root: fiscus

## Etymology
From Latin confiscatus, past participle of confiscare ('to lay up in a chest, transfer to the public treasury'), from con- ('together') + fiscus ('treasury, public purse, basket').

## AI Etymology
Confiscate is from Latin confiscatus, past participle of confiscare ('to lay up in a chest, transfer to the public treasury'), from con- ('together') + fiscus ('treasury, public purse, basket'). Important recorded forms include confiscare (Latin) and fiscus (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to seize property by authority. The wider family includes derived forms such as confiscation, confiscator, confiscatory, and confiscable and related words such as fiscal.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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