What does "expropriate" mean?

To deprive a person of (their private property) for public use.

What is a synonym for "expropriate"?

Common synonyms include: accroach, annex, appropriate, arrogate, attach, collectivize.

Pronounced //ɛksˈpɹəʊpɹi.eɪt//.

//ɛksˈpɹəʊpɹi.eɪt// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Verb

1
To deprive a person of (their private property) for public use. transitive
"States have the right to nationalize or expropriate the assets of a transnational corporation operating in their territory. Investments of foreign investors shall not be nationalized or expropriated except for a purpose in the public interest; […]"
2
deprive of possessions wordnet
3
To surrender a claim to private property without material compensation; to deprive oneself of private propriety rights. transitive
"When you have resigned, or rather consigned, your expropriated will to God, and thereby entrusted him to will for you, all his dispensations towards you are, in effect, the acts of your own will."

"We need to expropriate the collaborators in order to fill the war chest back up."

From Medieval Latin expropriātus.

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