Definition

1. Verb (Legal/Formal):
   • To take temporary possession of (property) as security against a debt or until a legal claim is settled: A legal action where assets are placed under the control of a trustee or court.
   • To remove or separate from general use or access; to isolate: To set something or someone apart.

Usage

• The primary use of sequestrate is in legal and formal contexts. It describes the act of legally seizing assets or the act of secluding someone or something.
• It is often used in passive constructions (e.g., "The funds were sequestrated.") or with a direct object (e.g., "The court will sequestrate the estate.").

Examples

• Legal Seizure:
  • The court ordered to sequestrate the company's assets until the dispute was resolved.
  • His bank account was sequestrated by the tax authorities.
• Isolation/Separation:
  • The scientist sequestrated the sample to prevent contamination.
  • He sequestrated himself in the library to finish his thesis.

Advanced Usage

• "to sequestrate oneself": To voluntarily isolate or seclude oneself from others.
  • The writer sequestrated herself in a cabin to find inspiration.
• In ecology/chemistry, sequestrate can mean to absorb and retain a substance, though the more common term is "sequester."
  • Some plants can sequestrate heavy metals from the soil.

Variants and Related Words

• Sequester (verb): The more common and general synonym, used in both legal and non-legal contexts (e.g., to sequester a jury, to sequester carbon).
• Sequestration (noun): The act or process of sequestrating. (e.g., ).
• Sequestrator (noun): A person or entity that carries out sequestration.

Synonyms

• Confiscate (to seize with authority, often permanently).
• Impound (to seize and take legal custody of).
• Isolate.
• Seclude.

Related Phrases

• Sequestered assets: Assets that have been legally seized and set apart.
  • The sequestrated assets were held by a court-appointed trustee.
• In sequestration: The state of being sequestrated.
  • The estate remains in sequestration during the probate process.

Verb

1. set apart from others
   • The dentist sequesters the tooth he is working on
2. keep away from others
   • He sequestered himself in his study to write a book