adj.
Suitable for a particular person, condition, occasion, or place; fitting.
tr.v., -at·ed, -at·ing, -ates. (-āt')
- To set apart for a specific use: appropriating funds for education.
- To take possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself, often without permission: Lee appropriated my unread newspaper and never returned it.
[Middle English appropriat, from Late Latin appropriātus, past participle of appropriāre, to make one's own : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin proprius, own.]
appropriately ap·pro'pri·ate·ly adv.appropriateness ap·pro'pri·ate·ness n.
appropriative ap·pro'pri·a'tive (-ā'tĭv) adj.
appropriator ap·pro'pri·a'tor n.
SYNONYMS appropriate, arrogate, commandeer, confiscate, preempt, usurp. These verbs mean to seize for oneself or as one's right: appropriated the family car; arrogated the chair at the head of the table; commandeered a plane for the escape; confiscating stolen property; preempted the glory for herself; usurped the throne. See also synonyms at allocate.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
