1
as in to hijack
to take control of (a vehicle) by force
an airliner commandeered by terrorists
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2
as in to seize
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
commandeered all of the equipment, as if the chem lab belonged solely to him
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of commandeer
The demonstrators largely blocked all traffic on the highway between Mexico City and Acapulco for two days, battled security forces and commandeered a police armored truck and used it to ram down the gates of the state legislature building.
—
Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 8 Oct. 2024
View 3 Images By commandeering smart thermostats and water heaters and sipping power from in-home EV chargers, virtual power plants are being formed across the country.
—Michael Franco, New Atlas, 14 Dec. 2024
The company has since commandeered the AI boom, most famously through the release of ChatGPT.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
Rita Ora once again returns as co-host alongside Seacrest, who’s marking his 20th year commandeering the holiday staple.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for commandeer 
Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 8 Oct. 2024
View 3 Images By commandeering smart thermostats and water heaters and sipping power from in-home EV chargers, virtual power plants are being formed across the country.
—Michael Franco, New Atlas, 14 Dec. 2024
The company has since commandeered the AI boom, most famously through the release of ChatGPT.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
Rita Ora once again returns as co-host alongside Seacrest, who’s marking his 20th year commandeering the holiday staple.
—Karu F. Daniels, New York Daily News, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for commandeer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commandeer
Verb
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What comes across with painful truthfulness is the way history can hijack hopes.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2025
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This app hijacks your PC’s resources, like the CPU and GPU, which slows down its performance significantly.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
18 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Yemen's Houthi rebels announced on Wednesday the release of the crew of the Galaxy Leader, a commercial vessel seized in November 2023 during their campaign in the Red Sea.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
23 Jan. 2025
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Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war.—
Reuters,
NBC News,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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His service items, including his badge and firearm, were also confiscated.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
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We were interrogated, the contents of our suitcase was kind of picked through and things were confiscated.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Anthony held the No. 1 spot in Baseball America's previous rankings but was usurped by Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki, who recently signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.—
John Yoo and John Shu,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025
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By using these authorities to address a longstanding policy problem, Trump is usurping the role that the Constitution assigns to Congress.—
Elizabeth Goitein,
TIME,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Mary Lou Lord told me about a particularly bad day in the London Tube, where a creepy guy with one arm peed in her guitar case, then stole her money—so that would be a bad day for her.—
Cary Baker,
SPIN,
29 Jan. 2025
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UnitedHealth Group now said hackers stole records of about 190 million people in last February's attack on its Change Healthcare subsidiary.—
Ken Alltucker,
USA TODAY,
29 Jan. 2025
Verb
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On the ensuing possession, Rice was fouled and converted the first of two free throws with 22 seconds to go.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Jan. 2025
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Advertisement Also, last month, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office.—
Will Weissert,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
Verb
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In the hills of the Palisades, near the Temescal Ridge Trail, Alex Emerick, 34, his younger sister, Rainier, and their parents grabbed garden hoses at their home of 33 years.—
Laura J. Nelson,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Jan. 2025
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Junior forward Lawrence Sallis also grabbed 13 rebounds for the Royals.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Jan. 2025
Verb
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San Diego Wave has completed the signing of France midfielder Kenza Dali from Aston Villa. Dali, 33, has joined the club on a two-year deal through to 2027 and will occupy an international slot on the Wave’s roster in 2025.—
Ali Rampling,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
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Historic museums set within ornate palazzos occupy much of the city, such as Palazzo Madama, Turin’s municipal museum of ancient art, and Palazzo Reale di Torino, a 16th-century palace built for the House of Savoy.—
Monica Mendal,
Vogue,
24 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Commandeer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commandeer. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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