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to expropriate

to expropriate

4 8.8
To take property from its owner, usually by the government for public use
  • verb
  • /ɛkˈsproʊpriˌeɪt/
  • Formal
translation icon : expropiar
  • In times of crisis, it is not uncommon for a state to expropriate private properties for the common good.
  • expropriated property
  • expropriated land
  • compensation for expropriated

Basically, Senator Warren said it is OK to expropriate US investors.

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Examples

  • For example, Expreso, one of the major newspapers, was expropriated by the military regime.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Consider the issue of church properties expropriated between 1857 and 1934.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Private companies were to invest, expropriate properties, develop industries, and control resources.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Land could be expropriated for the national good at all levels.

  • Most of it, and the best of it, has already been expropriated for the benefit of others.

    Academic text (1994)
  • And that land was expropriated after the war and given to Jewish owners.

  • So, maybe the university's board of trustees does have the right to expropriate the church property.

  • And so he sends in then people to expropriate the grain and take the grain away from the peasants.

  • First, as land was expropriated, many peasants were crowded onto smaller holdings.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Not only big businesses but even medium-sized businesses were expropriated under the Communist dictatorship.

    Academic text (1993)

Antonyms

231 1.0

An act of giving something back to its owner

How Deprived

to dispossess
11 8.4
to expropriate
  • Formal
4 8.8
to seize
  • Formal
156 4.6
to evict
77 4.6
to deprive
198 3.2
to take
1.0

Surface Forms

expropriate infinitive
expropriated past participle
expropriating present participle
expropriates third person singular

Morphology

expropriate = appropriate (semi-transparent) = ex + propriate

The form shows a clear prefixation pattern (ex- + root related to 'propriet/appropriate'), but the exact root 'propriate' is not a standalone modern English word and the legal/administrative sense is more specialized than a straightforward 'take' reading.

Etymology

Expropriate comes from Latin parts ex- 'out of' and proprius 'one's own', the same root behind the English words property and proper. So, to expropriate is to take something 'out of' someone's own possession, usually by a government for public use.