Thesaurus results for PREEMPTED

preempted

verb

past tense of preempt

as in seized

to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right the thoughtless teenagers had preempted front-row seats that were reserved for the guests of honor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of preempted The rollout was preempted when hackers leaked apparent footage online this week. — Russ Bynum, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026 In May, the Second Circuit ruled that New York’s law was preempted by federal regulations, specifically the National Bank Act. — P.r. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026 Declare the rules preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill under the Supremacy Clause. — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026 The California Restaurant Association challenged the ban in federal court, saying the city’s ban preempted Energy Policy and Conservation Act rules on energy use of gas appliances, including those in households and restaurant kitchens. — Cam'ron Hardy, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 On July 8, a federal judge in Manhattan denied Kalshi's bid to block New York's regulators, holding the state's gambling laws are not preempted as applied to sports contracts. — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026 This week wasn’t a total loss for SerpApi and Perplexity AI, which did manage to get Reddit’s unjust enrichment and unfair competition claims tossed, since they were both preempted by the Copyright Act. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026 But the Court finds the state law is likely preempted in many respects. — Samantha Elkins, NBC news, 27 July 2026 Pierron, who recalled not being able to watch the 1986 World Cup final in Olathe because it had been preempted by a telethon, bought season tickets right away. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for preempted

Verb

Many politicians have either seized on the outrage or scrambled to shield themselves from the growing anger.

— Christopher Cann, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
The unrest comes as authorities tighten control over its uranium sector, having seized ⁠assets from France’s Orano.

— Reuters, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of seized

Verb

The declaration stated that White identified as a transgender woman and claimed eligibility under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.

— Jackson Thompson , Patricia Babcock McGraw OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Across the archipelago’s more than seven thousand islands, countless sovereign communities once bloomed with distinct languages and traditions, until Spain claimed them all under a single name.

— Albert Samaha, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of claimed

Verb

One order prevented federal agents from moving detainees out of state within seventy-two hours of being arrested; another demanded that the government return confiscated belongings to released detainees.

— Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
When referee Rick Knox confiscated the belt, Christian loaded up his wrist brace with a wrench.

— Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of confiscated

Verb

Howie Roseman acquired Bigsby after Week 1, and Bigsby eventually usurped Shipley as Barkley’s top backup.

— Zach Berman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
When Shuja was usurped in Afghanistan by a rival brother, Shuja’s wife, Wa’fa Begum, fled to Lahore for safety.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of usurped

Verb

The Israeli military seized a 400 square kilometer buffer zone inside Syria after the 2024 collapse of the Assad regime and has occupied it since.

— Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
Parton, who died Tuesday at age 80, occupied a space in our global cultural imagination — a figure of American mythology, someone best described as larger-than-life and then a little bit more.

— Maria Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of occupied

Verb

At the extreme upper end, the study found that a maximum possible prevalence of CTE — if researchers assumed that every former football player had CTE except for the 20 whose brains had definitively been cleared of a diagnosis — was around 97%.

— Becky Sullivan, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
Taylor has quickly assumed a leadership role, with her coach using her as an example of expectations.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of assumed

Verb

The initial contract between Norman and Mental Health Association Oklahoma was for one year and carried a $383,633 price tag, with $333,633 appropriated from Opioid Settlement Funds.

— Jake Ramsey, Oklahoma Watch, 30 Aug. 2026
The Arkansas General Assembly then appropriated $50 million for site development efforts over two years, according to the commission.

— Dylan Sherman, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of appropriated

Browse Nearby Words

preempt

preempted

preempting

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Preempted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preempted. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of preempted

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

conscientious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes