0 to take a possession away from someone when you have the right to do so, usually as a punishment and often for a limited period, after which it is returned to the owner:
1 to officially take private property away from someone, usually by legal authority:
2 to officially take something away from someone, sometimes for a limited period, because they have done something illegal:
The organization has notified U.S. Customs to confiscate all imported fire extinguishers with the counterfeit labels.
And once, later, the second prior of the monastery confiscated his writing tablets, and completely destroyed what he had written on the wax.
Inasmuch as one reason for the border closure was currency conversion, it was not uncommon for border crossers to have their money confiscated.
Large estates permanently confiscated from great delinquents and fractions of estates taken from lesser offenders could be bought by parliament's supporters.
Assuming the uniform distribution, the seller will always confiscate half of the grant.
By contrast, the capital income can be confiscated and the government can eventually own all the capital to run production.
First, they confiscated large land holdings and introduced state farms.
In this gigantic hall, one might say, the confiscated mead-benches on which many a warrior had once found his former identity are relocated.
If the same offence is committed the second time, the cutting and felling tools are confiscated.