as in to usurp
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peculate
Verb
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And so this is part of a longstanding trend of Congress kind of allowing the White House to usurp their authority.—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
1 May 2026 -
This would reset the balance between the executive and legislative branches, demanding the House and Senate not cede excessive authority to unelected bureaucrats who are only too happy to usurp legislative powers.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Becerra’s former aide plead guilty last year to embezzling $225,000 from a dormant campaign account and using it to pad his salary; Becerra has denied any knowledge of the scheme or faced any charges.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
26 Apr. 2026
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He was accused of embezzling client funds for his own personal spending; he was sued by his former law firm partners; and his law firm was facing bankruptcy.—
Brianne Tracy,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That collapse is spurred not just by Napoleon, but also outside pressure from the human-run Pilkington Corporation, intent on reclaiming the freedom that these precious cartoon animals just seized.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
30 Apr. 2026
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Israel and Egypt have imposed varying degrees of a blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In February 2025, a state appeals court upheld the jury’s verdict, ruling that Missouri’s laws requiring companies to warn of dangers are not preempted by federal law.—
Sarah J. Morath,
The Conversation,
30 Apr. 2026
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OpenAI says its advanced security program is not a response to a hacking incident but intended to preempt future threats.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Cohen is careful not to let enthusiasm for the science bleed into endorsement of the wellness industry that has appropriated it.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2026
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Part of the argument from critics is that Congress did not appropriate funds to the IRS to complete the Direct File program.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But trademark infringement lawsuits can be filed in federal court — a potentially potent greater deterrent to misuse, because those cases apply nationwide.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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Anthropic is also testing its latest Mythos model with a select group of companies; the Claude developer claims these restrictions are necessary to ensure the model can’t be misused upon a more public release.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But all of those ideas for spending or tax rebates, again, all of those are congressional authority that the president is arrogating to himself—something else that would have startled the founders of the country all those 250 years ago.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
31 Dec. 2025
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Like Mao and Deng before him, Xi Jinping has arrogated to himself great power.—
JOSEPH TORIGIAN,
Foreign Affairs,
23 June 2025
Verb
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The war ends, and marauding Russians confiscate the family estate.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
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Israeli police have for years confiscated Palestinian flags from Palestinians, accusing them of disturbing the peace.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Peculate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peculate. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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