seized
Americanadjective
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taken hold, possession, or control of, as by force or legal authority; confiscated, captured, or appropriated.
Police say the seized property includes knives, computer equipment, a balaclava, and military clothing.
Settlers were observed planting olive trees on illegally seized land.
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(of an opportunity) taken advantage of promptly.
Everything that Mom and I had accomplished was rooted firmly in the soil of hard work and seized opportunities.
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(of moving parts) locked or jammed, as from excessive friction (often followed byup ).
I gladly pay top dollar for lubricants and fluids, because I know it's far more expensive to have to rebuild a seized engine!
-
having ceased to function; having come to a halt (often followed byup ).
Businesses need to access credit lines to function, but now the credit market is totally seized up.
-
fully understood; mentally grasped.
People who need cognitive closure will absorb a statement early in the process of acquiring knowledge, "freeze" on that seized idea, and resist further information.
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(of melted chocolate) grainy and clumpy from overheating or from contact with a small amount of moisture.
To reverse the reaction, add more liquid, but just enough to dissolve most of the sugar and cocoa particles in the seized chocolate clumps.
verb
Other Word Forms
- unseized adjective
Etymology
Origin of seized
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Geopolitical strategists are closely monitoring Beijing’s reaction to the attack on its ally just months after the U.S. seized Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro, one of China’s closest allies in Latin America.
From Barron's
"There is a window of opportunity, and it needs to be seized," Nadjibulla said.
From BBC
In January federal security forces in the Amhara region said they had seized 50,000 rounds of ammunition that they alleged had been sent by Eritrea to anti-government militias.
From BBC
But he crucially failed to take his first two break points in the 11th game, before Rinderknech seized his opportunity to clinch the opening set in the following game.
From BBC
It made me want to laugh too, only instead of laughing, my body seized up in pain and I coughed my lungs out.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
