grab, seize
(verb) capture the attention or imagination of; âThis story will grab youâ; âThe movie seized my imaginationâ
seize, clutch, get hold of
(verb) affect; âFear seized the prisonersâ; âThe patient was seized with unbearable painsâ; âHe was seized with a dreadful diseaseâ
seize, prehend, clutch
(verb) take hold of; grab; âThe sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counterâ; âShe clutched her purseâ; âThe mother seized her child by the armâ; âBirds of prey often seize small mammalsâ
seize
(verb) take or capture by force; âThe terrorists seized the politiciansâ; âThe rebels threaten to seize civilian hostagesâ
seize
(verb) hook by a pull on the line; âstrike a fishâ
appropriate, capture, seize, conquer
(verb) take possession of by force, as after an invasion; âthe invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitantsâ; âThe army seized the townâ; âThe militia captured the castleâ
impound, attach, sequester, confiscate, seize
(verb) take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; âThe FBI seized the drugsâ; âThe customs agents impounded the illegal shipmentâ; âThe police confiscated the stolen artworkâ
assume, usurp, seize, take over, arrogate
(verb) seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as oneâs right or possession; âHe assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the townâ; âhe usurped my rightsâ; âShe seized control of the throne after her husband diedâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
seize (third-person singular simple present seizes, present participle seizing, simple past and past participle seized)
(transitive) To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture.
Synonyms: clasp, grasp, grip, Thesaurus:grasp
(transitive) To take advantage of (an opportunity or circumstance).
Synonym: jump on
(transitive) To take possession of (by force, law etc.).
Synonyms: arrogate, commandeer, confiscate
(transitive) To have a sudden and powerful effect upon.
(transitive, nautical) To bind, lash or make fast, with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line.
(transitive, obsolete) To fasten, fix.
(intransitive) To lay hold in seizure, by hands or claws (+ on or upon).
(intransitive) To have a seizure.
(intransitive) To bind or lock in position immovably; see also seize up.
(UK, intransitive) To submit for consideration to a deliberative body.
(law) (with of) To cause (an action or matter) to be or remain before (a certain judge or court).
Source: Wiktionary
Seize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seized; p. pr. & vb. n. Seizing.] Etym: [OE. seisen, saisen, OF. seisir, saisir, F. saisir, of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. set. The meaning is properly, to set, put, place, hence, to put in possession of. See Set, v. t.]
1. To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold of; to gripe or grasp suddenly; to reach and grasp. For by no means the high bank he could seize. Spenser. Seek you to seize and gripe into your hands The royalties and rights of banished Hereford Shak.
2. To take possession of by force. At last they seize The scepter, and regard not David's sons. Milton.
3. To invade suddenly; to take sudden hold of; to come upon suddenly; as, a fever seizes a patient. Hope and deubt alternate seize her seul. Pope.
4. (law)
Definition: To take possession of by virtue of a warrant or other legal authority; as, the sheriff seized the debtor's goods.
5. To fasten; to fix. [Obs.] As when a bear hath seized her cruel claws Upon the carcass of some beast too weak. Spenser.
6. To grap with the mind; to comprehend fully and distinctly; as, to seize an idea.
7. (Naut.)
Definition: To bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff, as yarn or marline; as, to seize ropes.
Note: This word, by writers on law, is commonly written seise, in the phrase to be seised of (an estate), as also, in composition, disseise, disseisin. To be seized of, to have possession, or right of possession; as, A B was seized and possessed of the manor of Dale. "Whom age might see seized of what youth made prize." Chapman.
– To seize on or upon, to fall on and grasp; to take hold on; to take possession of suddenly and forcibly.
Syn.
– To catch; grasp; clutch; snatch; apprehend; arrest; take; capture.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
22 February 2025
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., âthe father of the brideâ instead of âthe brideâs fatherâ
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be âdancingâ after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. Thatâs how the first coffee drink was born.
