ex·pro·pri·ate

[eks-proh-pree-eyt]
verb (used with object), ex·pro·pri·at·ed, ex·pro·pri·at·ing.
1.
to take possession of, especially for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner: The government expropriated the land for a recreation area.
2.
to dispossess (a person) of ownership: The revolutionary government expropriated the landowners from their estates.
3.
to take (something) from another's possession for one's own use: He expropriated my ideas for his own article.

Origin:
1605–15; < Medieval Latin expropriātus separated from one's own (past participle of expropriāre), equivalent to ex- ex-1 + propri(āre) to appropriate (derivative of proprius proper) + -ātus -ate1

ex·pro·pri·a·ble [eks-proh-pree-uh-buhl] , adjective
ex·pro·pri·a·tion, noun
ex·pro·pri·a·tion·ist, adjective, noun
ex·pro·pri·a·tor, noun
de-ex·pro·pri·a·tion, noun
un·ex·pro·pri·a·ble, adjective
un·ex·pro·pri·at·ed, adjective

appropriate, apropos, expropriate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To expropriation
00:10
Expropriation is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
expropriate (ɛksˈprəʊprɪˌeɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
See also eminent domain to deprive (an owner) of (property), esp by taking it for public use
 
[C17: from Medieval Latin expropriāre to deprive of possessions, from proprius own]
 
ex'propriable
 
adj
 
expropri'ation
 
n
 
ex'propriator
 
n

expropriate (ɛksˈprəʊprɪˌeɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
See also eminent domain to deprive (an owner) of (property), esp by taking it for public use
 
[C17: from Medieval Latin expropriāre to deprive of possessions, from proprius own]
 
ex'propriable
 
adj
 
expropri'ation
 
n
 
ex'propriator
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

expropriation
c.1443, "renunciation of worldly goods," from M.L. expropriationem, from expropriare "deprive of property," from ex- "away from" + propriare "to appropriate." Sense of "deprive someone of property" (1848) "appears to have arisen among Ger. socialists" [Weekley].

expropriate
1610s, back formation from expropriation. Related: Expropriated; expropriating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

expropriation definition


The taking over of private property by a government, often without fair compensation but usually with a legal assertion that the government has a right to do so.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
And even if expropriation is avoided, there are difficulties.
The fictional tale of land expropriation and eviction seemed to cut too close
  to the bone.
Private construction of housing here has virtually ground to a halt because of
  fears of government expropriation.
And what they ultimately face is nationalistic expropriation of their
  businesses.
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