verb

confiscate

KAHN-fih-skayt/ˈkɑːnfɪskeɪt/

To take property by authority, especially as a penalty.

The staff member confiscates the student's prohibited laser pointer and puts it away.

School staff member calmly takes a prohibited laser pointer from student's open hand and stores it in a small plain tray; authority indicated by desk and badge with no writing, no force.

Etymology

conLatinwith, together

+fiscLatinpublic treasury; money basket

+ateLatinpast-participle ending

Fiscus originally named a money basket and then the public treasury. Confiscating property meant making it forfeit to that treasury, before broadening to taking something away by authority.

In context

Monte Johnson23:35

rhetoricians, just like tyrants can have people put to death, confiscate property, banish or exile people from the city.

Plato Gorgias 2 of 3

More examples

The teacher confiscates phones used during exams.
Security officers confiscated the knife at the entrance.
The court can confiscate property bought with illegal profits.

Forms

confiscate · confiscates · confiscated · confiscating

confiscation noun — The official taking of someone's property.

Similar words

seize: Emphasizes taking possession, often forcibly, without necessarily imposing a penalty.
impound: Means holding property in official custody, often until conditions are met.