— expropriable /eks proh"pree euh beuhl/ , adj. — expropriation , n. — expropriationist , adj. , n. — expropriator , n.
/eks proh"pree ayt'/ , v.t., expropriated, expropriating .
1. to take possession of, esp. 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.
[ 1605-15; expropriatus separated from one's own (ptp. of expropriare ), equiv. to ex- EX- 1 + propri ( are ) to appropriate (deriv. of proprius PROPER) + -atus -ATE 1 ]