I. -ēˌāt, usu -ād.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English appropriaten, from Late Latin appropriatus, past participle of appropriare, from Latin ad- + propriare to appropriate, from proprius own — more at proper
1. : to annex (a benefice) to a spiritual corporation to its perpetual use — distinguished from impropriate
2. archaic : to assign or attribute as specially belonging
3.
a. : to make peculiarly the possession of someone
appropriate goods to the lord
appropriate the money to himself
b. : to claim or use as if by an exclusive or preeminent right
let no man appropriate a common benefit
4. archaic : to make suitable : suit
terms so exquisitely appropriated to the character he draws — E.V.Lucas
5. : to set apart for or assign to a particular purpose or use in exclusion of all others
appropriate money for the navy
appropriate the building for storage
6. : to take without permission : pilfer , purloin
he appropriated my notebook — R.M.Lovett
Synonyms:
preempt , usurp , arrogate , confiscate : these verbs all mean to seize or take over more or less dictatorially. In the order appropriate , preempt , usurp , arrogate , confiscate they may be said to form an ascending scale of highhandedness. appropriate has the common meaning of to set aside for a special purpose
it would not be easy to induce the town to appropriate money for improvements — American Guide Series: Maine
but it signifies more generally to take over or acquire without authority or with questionable authority, usually also implying a conversion to one's own use of the thing taken over
to the natives, it is sacrilegious … for the white men to appropriate the sacred watering places — Rex Ingamells
the winners appropriated all of the best jobs — Charlton Laird
preempt adds to appropriate the idea of beforehandedness and suggests a stronger action, as a seizure, especially of something desired by others
preempt a lion's share of the profits
the Hindu Maharajah … preempted the country's entire public motor transport — Faubion Bowers
tall, modern apartments preempt Washington Square West — American Guide Series: New York City
usurp stresses more the idea of the unlawfulness or unwarranted nature of the action and more frequently has as its object rather powers, rights, or offices taken by strong-arm methods than tangible goods seized by force
new rulers have to prove that they have not usurped their title, but possess some higher right to govern than the mere fact of having grabbed power — Aldous Huxley
the executive officer of the Caine who usurps command from Captain Queeg in the midst of the typhoon — H.W.Baldwin
legislative assemblies have usurped the powers which rightfully belong to the executive branch — H.J.Morgenthau
the persistence with which certain birds usurped and clung to favorite perches — William Beebe
arrogate stresses an extreme highhandedness, as of presumption or insolence, and usually has as its object a right, power, or function
a ruthlessness that arrogates to them sole control of local political life — T.H.White
not only did he reconstitute himself the final court of appeals, but he gradually arrogated to himself the function of all the courts — G.W.Johnson
the artist's productivity pretends to be creation, that is, it arrogates to man what is the privilege of God — Hannah Arendt
the clique which had arrogated to itself the function of dictating to Ireland in all things literary — M.P.Linehan
confiscate stresses stongly the idea of unwarranted seizure itself, suggesting often rather a display of power or control than any conversion of the thing seized to one's own purpose
they confiscated Tory property worth a million dollars — American Guide Series: North Carolina
eight were banished from the United States and their property confiscated — H.S.Canby
pots and pans confiscated from the kitchen — R.M.Lovett
II. -ēə̇t sometimes -ēˌāt; usu -d.+V adjective
Etymology: Middle English appropriat, from Late Latin appropriatus
1. : specially suitable : fit , proper
sit down anywhere and the appropriate waiter comes up — P.E.Deutschman
gift packages are likewise appropriate for the girls you regularly remember — Phoenix Flame
by any means appropriate to our use — George Meredith
2. : belonging peculiarly : special
an appropriate symbol of that swanky and luxurious town — Virgil Thomson
the pupil lacks the qualities appropriate to the master's style — David Sylvester
3. obsolete : attached as an accessory possession
Synonyms: see fit