WordWeb Online

1. Take hold of; grab
   "The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter"; "The mother seized her child by the arm"; "Birds of prey often seize small mammals"
   - prehend [archaic], clutch
    
2. Take or capture by force
   "The terrorists seized the politicians"; "The rebels threaten to seize civilian hostages"
    
3. Take possession of by force, as after an invasion
   "the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"; "The army seized the town"
   - appropriate, capture, conquer
    
4. Take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority
   "The FBI seized the drugs"
   - impound, attach, sequester, confiscate
    
5. Seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession
   "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"
   - assume, usurp, take over, arrogate
    
6. Hook by a pull on the line
    
7. Affect
   "Fear seized the prisoners"; "The patient was seized with unbearable pains"; "He was seized with a dreadful disease"
   - clutch, get hold of
    
8. Capture the attention or imagination of
   "The movie seized my imagination"
   - grab

Sounds like: seas, sees

Derived forms: seized, seizes, seizing

See also: seizer, seizing, seizure

Type of: fascinate, get hold of, hook, intrigue, overcome, overpower, overtake, overwhelm, sweep over, take, whelm [archaic]

Encyclopedia: Seize