The difference between Confiscate and Steal

When used as verbs, confiscate means to use one's authority to lay claim to and separate a possession from its holder, whereas steal means to take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else.

Confiscate is also adjective with the meaning: confiscated.

Steal is also noun with the meaning: the act of stealing.

check bellow for the other definitions of Confiscate and Steal

  1. Confiscate as a verb (transitive):

    To use one's authority to lay claim to and separate a possession from its holder.

    Examples:

    "In schools it is common for teachers to confiscate electronic games and other distractions."

  1. Confiscate as an adjective (obsolete):

    Confiscated; seized and appropriated by the government for public use; forfeit.

  1. Steal as a verb (transitive):

    To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else.

    Examples:

    "Three irreplaceable paintings were stolen from the gallery."

  2. Steal as a verb (transitive, of ideas, words, music, a look, credit, etc.):

    To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.

    Examples:

    "They stole my idea for a biodegradable, disposable garbage de-odorizer."

  3. Steal as a verb (transitive):

    To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully.

    Examples:

    "He stole glances at the pretty woman across the street."

  4. Steal as a verb (transitive, colloquial):

    To acquire at a low price.

    Examples:

    "He stole the car for two thousand less than its book value."

  5. Steal as a verb (transitive):

    To draw attention unexpectedly in (an entertainment), especially by being the outstanding performer. Usually used in the phrase steal the show.

  6. Steal as a verb (intransitive):

    To move silently or secretly.

    Examples:

    "He stole across the room, trying not to wake her."

  7. Steal as a verb:

    To withdraw or convey (oneself) clandestinely.

  8. Steal as a verb (transitive, baseball):

    To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, passed ball, wild pitch, or defensive indifference.

  9. Steal as a verb (sports, transitive):

    To dispossess

  10. Steal as a verb (humorous, transitive):

    To acquire; to get

    Examples:

    "Hold on, I need to steal a phone from the office. I'll be back real quick."

  1. Steal as a noun:

    The act of stealing.

  2. Steal as a noun:

    A piece of merchandise available at a very attractive price.

    Examples:

    "At this price, this car is a steal."

  3. Steal as a noun (basketball, ice hockey):

    A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team.

  4. Steal as a noun (baseball):

    A stolen base.

  5. Steal as a noun (curling):

    Scoring in an end without the hammer.

  6. Steal as a noun (computing):

    A policy in database systems that a database follows which allows a transaction to be written on nonvolatile storage before its commit occurs.

Compare words:

Compare with synonyms and related words: