confiscated

confiscated — verb

  • confiscatedpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • confiscateds3rd person singular
  • confiscateding-ing form
  • confiscatededpast simple

1. to officially take away someone's property or possessions because they have brok

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to officially take away someone's property or possessions because they have broken a law or rule, usually as a punishment; a customs officer might confiscate illegal goods at the border, or a teacher might confiscate a phone from a student using it during a test.

例句

Customs officers confiscated the fake designer handbags before they could enter the country.

confiscate + concrete objects at border

The referee confiscated the player's jersey after he argued with the call.

同義詞
  • seize

    more general: can be by any authority or force; does not always involve a penalty or return

  • impound

    specifically for vehicles, animals, or documents held by authorities until legal conditions are met

  • confiscated
反義詞
  • return

    to give back what was taken

  • restore

    to return something to its previous owner after confiscation

文法句型

confiscate + noun phrase

be confiscated (by someone)

用法筆記

Frequently used in passive constructions, especially in contexts of law, customs, or school discipline. The confiscated item may be returned after a specific period (e.g. a phone returned after class) or kept permanently (e.g. illegal goods).

常見錯誤

❌The police confiscated him the car.
✅The police confiscated the car from him.
💡confiscate takes the item as direct object; the person is introduced with 'from'.
❌The teacher confiscated my phone for two days.
✅The teacher took my phone and kept it for two days.' Or 'The teacher confiscated my phone and held onto it for two days.
💡'confiscate' describes the act of taking, not the holding period.

confiscated — adjective