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seize

Dictionary definition · seize

verb

  1. take into your hands deliberately"The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter"
  2. take or capture by force"The terrorists seized the politicians"
  3. take possession of by force, as after an invasion"the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"
  4. take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority"The FBI seized the drugs"
  5. seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession"He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"
  6. hook by a pull on the line"strike a fish"
  7. affect"Fear seized the prisoners"
  8. capture the attention or imagination of"This story will grab you"

Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).