CONFISCATE
confiscate, forfeit, forfeited
(adjective) surrendered as a penalty
impound, attach, sequester, confiscate, seize
(verb) take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; “The FBI seized the drugs”; “The customs agents impounded the illegal shipment”; “The police confiscated the stolen artwork”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
confiscate (third-person singular simple present confiscates, present participle confiscating, simple past and past participle confiscated)
(transitive) To use one's authority to lay claim to and separate a possession from its holder.
Synonyms
• (take possession of or lay claim to): appropriate, arrogate, commandeer, expropriate, requisition, usurp, steal, rob
Adjective
confiscate (not comparable)
(obsolete) Confiscated; seized and appropriated by the government for public use; forfeit.
Source: Wiktionary
Con"fis*cate ( or , a. Etym: [L. confiscatus, p.p. of confiscare to
confiscate, prop., to lay up in a chest; con- + fiscus basket, purse,
treasury. See Fiscal.]
Definition: Seized and appropriated by the government to the public use;
forfeited.
Lest that your goods too soon be confiscate. Shak.
Con"fis*cate ( or , v. t. [imp & p. p. Confiscated; p.pr & vb. n.
Confiscating.]
Definition: To seize as forfeited to the public treasury; to appropriate to
the public use.
It was judged that he should be banished and his whole estate
confiscated and seized. Bacon.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition