Appropriate
Appropriate verb - To take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right.
Usage example: archaeologists once freely appropriated artifacts excavated at ancient African sites for their museums in Europe
Steal is a synonym for appropriate in poach topic. In some cases you can use "Steal" instead a verb "Appropriate", when it comes to topics like criminality.
Steal
Steal verb - To take (something) without right and with an intent to keep.
Usage example: the guy who tried to steal my car was sentenced to a year in jail
Appropriate is a synonym for steal in copy topic. You can use "Appropriate" instead a verb "Steal", if it concerns topics such as purloin, plagiarize, take something without permission.
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- In China Miéville's The Scar, the city of Armada is a congealed mass of ships, which is perfectly appropriate given that its inhabitants steal almost everything they need.
Source: Environmental Symbolism -
Environmental Symbolism: The city of Armada is a congealed mass of ships, which is perfectly appropriate given that its inhabitants steal almost everything they need.
Source: Literature / The Scar - However, doing so lets one of them steal back a woman from Robin, and gets the other out of the family curse, so the cheery, bouncy music is actually highly appropriate.
Source: Lyrical Dissonance / Music
Cite this Source
Steal and Appropriate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/appropriate/steal
Appropriate & Steal. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/appropriate/steal>.
Steal or Appropriate. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/appropriate/steal.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "appropriate" and "steal" have occurred on timeline