expropriate
verb
Did you know?
If you guessed that expropriate has something in common with the verb appropriate, you're right. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin adjective proprius, meaning "own." Expropriate came to English by way of the Medieval Latin verb expropriare, itself from Latin ex- ("out of" or "from") and proprius. Appropriate descends from Late Latin appropriare, which joins proprius and Latin ad- ("to" or "toward"). Both the verb appropriate ("to take possession of" or "to set aside for a particular use") and the adjective appropriate ("fitting" or "suitable") have been with us since the 15th century, and expropriate was officially appropriated in the 17th century. Other proprius descendants in English include proper and property.
Synonyms
Examples of expropriate in a Sentence
Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024
And, as the Cold War began, some of its operations in Eastern Europe were expropriated by communist governments.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 21 Nov. 2024
Perhaps most alarming for people in Crawfish Rock, the law created a process for Honduras to expropriate land on behalf of the ZEDEs through eminent domain in order to expand.
—Nicholas Kusnetz, WIRED, 28 Sep. 2024
As part of the scheme, the UFC not only controls Fighters’ careers, but also takes and expropriates the rights to their names and likenesses in perpetuity.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for expropriate 
Dictionary Entries Near expropriate
Cite this Entry
“Expropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expropriate. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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expropriate
verb
Legal Definition
expropriate
transitive verb
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