seize+upon

  • 11seize — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. t. grasp, clutch; capture, arrest, appropriate, confiscate; afflict; attach, distrain; comprehend, understand. See stealing, intelligence, acquisition. II (Roget s IV) v. 1. [To grasp] Syn. take, take …

    English dictionary for students

  • 12seize on — PHRASAL VERB If you seize on something or seize upon it, you show great interest in it, often because it is useful to you. [V P n] When the results were published, newspapers around the world seized on them as proof that global warming isn t… …

    English dictionary

  • 13seize — W3 [si:z] v [T] [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: saisir to take possession of , from Medieval Latin sacire] 1.) to take hold of something suddenly and violently = ↑grab ▪ Suddenly he seized my hand. seize sth from sb ▪ Maggie sei …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 14seize — [ siz ] verb transitive ** 1. ) to take something using official power and force: CONFISCATE: Customs officials have seized 100 pounds of cocaine. Action was taken to seize criminal assets valued at $200 million. a ) to take control of a place or …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 15seize — vt seized, seiz·ing 1 or seise: to put in possession of property or vest with the right of possession or succession stand seized of land 2: to take possession or custody of (property) esp. by lawful authority seize drugs as evidence …

    Law dictionary

  • 16seize on something — ˈseize on/upon sth derived to suddenly show a lot of interest in sth, especially because you can use it to your advantage Syn: pounce on/upon • The rumours were eagerly seized upon by the local press. • Peter seized on her last comment …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 17seize — ► VERB 1) take hold of suddenly and forcibly. 2) take forcible possession of. 3) (of the police or another authority) take possession of by warrant or legal right. 4) take (an opportunity) eagerly and decisively. 5) (seize on/upon) take eager… …

    English terms dictionary

  • 18To seize on — Seize Seize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Seized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Seizing}.] [OE. seisen, saisen, OF. seisir, saisir, F. saisir, of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. set. The meaning is properly, to set, put, place, hence, to put in possession of. See… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 19seize — Synonyms and related words: abduct, absorb, accroach, adopt, afflict, annex, appreciate, apprehend, appropriate, arrest, arrogate, assimilate, assume, assume command, be acquainted with, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious… …

    Moby Thesaurus

  • 20seize — seizable, adj. seizer; Law. seizor /see zeuhr, zawr/, n. /seez/, v., seized, seizing. v.t. 1. to take hold of suddenly or forcibly; grasp: to seize a weapon. 2. to grasp mentally; understand clearly and completely: to seize an idea …

    Universalium