Appropriation

//əˌpɹoʊpɹiˈeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An act or instance of appropriating. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    a deliberate act of acquisition of something, often without the permission of the owner wordnet
  3. 3
    That which is appropriated. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    incorporation by joining or uniting wordnet
  5. 5
    Public funds set aside for a specific purpose. countable, uncountable

    "Bush said that GRNL had lost touch with the grassroots, and as a result was unable to push legislation and lobby for higher appropriations for AIDS."

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    money set aside (as by a legislature) for a specific purpose wordnet
  2. 7
    The use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    The assimilation of concepts into a governing framework. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    In church law, the making over of a benefice to an owner who receives the tithes, but is bound to appoint a vicar for the spiritual service of the parish. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    The principle that supplies granted by a legislature are only to be expended in the manner specified by that legislature. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
annexationabductionabstractionadoptionallocationallotment

Example

More examples

"The appropriation is pin-money; it wouldn't be enough even to build a gym, much less build the administration building."

Etymology

From Middle English appropriacion, appropriacioun, from Medieval Latin appropriātiō. By surface analysis, appropriate + -ion.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.