Library / English Dictionary

SEIZE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Capture the attention or imagination of

Example:

The movie seized my imagination

Synonyms:

grab; seize

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

fascinate; intrigue (cause to be interested or curious)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Affect

Example:

He was seized with a dreadful disease

Synonyms:

clutch; get hold of; seize

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

overcome; overpower; overtake; overwhelm; sweep over; whelm (overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take hold of; grab

Example:

Birds of prey often seize small mammals

Synonyms:

clutch; prehend; seize

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

get hold of; take (get into one's hands, take physically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "seize"):

nab (seize suddenly)

rack (seize together, as of parallel ropes of a tackle in order to prevent running through the block)

claw (clutch as if in panic)

apprehend; arrest; collar; cop; nab; nail; pick up (take into custody)

capture; catch; get (succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase)

collar (seize by the neck or collar)

clasp (grasp firmly)

grip (hold fast or firmly)

grab (take or grasp suddenly)

catch; grab; take hold of (take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of)

snap; snatch; snatch up (to grasp hastily or eagerly)

clench; clinch (hold in a tight grasp)

grapple; grip (to grip or seize, as in a wrestling match)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

seizing (the act of gripping something firmly with the hands (or the tentacles))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Take or capture by force

Example:

The rebels threaten to seize civilian hostages

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

get hold of; take (get into one's hands, take physically)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "seize"):

commandeer; highjack; hijack; pirate (take arbitrarily or by force)

abduct; kidnap; nobble; snatch (take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom)

wrest (obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically)

raven (obtain or seize by violence)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

seizer (a kidnapper who drugs men and takes them for compulsory service aboard a ship)

seizure (the act of taking of a person by force)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Hook by a pull on the line

Example:

strike a fish

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

hook (catch with a hook)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Take possession of by force, as after an invasion

Example:

The militia captured the castle

Synonyms:

appropriate; capture; conquer; seize

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

arrogate; assume; seize; take over; usurp (seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "seize"):

carry (capture after a fight)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Derivation:

seizure (the act of forcibly dispossessing an owner of property)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority

Example:

The police confiscated the stolen artwork

Synonyms:

attach; confiscate; impound; seize; sequester

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

take (take into one's possession)

Verb group:

sequester (requisition forcibly, as of enemy property)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "seize"):

condemn (appropriate (property) for public use)

garnish; garnishee (take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child support)

distrain (confiscate by distress)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

seizure (the taking possession of something by legal process)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession

Example:

She seized control of the throne after her husband died

Synonyms:

arrogate; assume; seize; take over; usurp

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "seize" is one way to...):

take (take by force)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "seize"):

annex (take (territory) as if by conquest)

appropriate; capture; conquer; seize (take possession of by force, as after an invasion)

preoccupy (occupy or take possession of beforehand or before another or appropriate for use in advance)

hijack (seize control of)

raid (take over (a company) by buying a controlling interest of its stock)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

My uncle seized the lantern from the fellow’s hand, and we all trooped behind him down the lane.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He walked up to another tree, as he spoke, but its branches immediately seized him and tossed him back again.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

One would imagine that under such circumstances the first act of young Cadogan West would be to seize the villain and raise the alarm.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She was stopped by a slight fit of coughing, and Mr. Weston instantly seized the opportunity of going on.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Leaving his sentence unfinished, he seized pen and paper and wrote to Jo, telling her that he could not settle to anything while there was the least hope of her changing her mind.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Phelps seized his hand and kissed it.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He would seize the coat, then, and be in the act of throwing it out, when it would occur to him that it would swim and not sink.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And Mugridge kicked savagely, till the Kanaka, hanging on with one hand, seized the Cockney’s foot with the other.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

When I brought it to him, he seized it greedily and drank it out.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

At that time my virtue slumbered; my evil, kept awake by ambition, was alert and swift to seize the occasion; and the thing that was projected was Edward Hyde.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)