EN

Synonyms for purloin

22 synonyms

verb

Most common

steal abstract swipe filch

All synonyms

Verb

abstract, swipe, filch, steal, pinch, cabbage, make off with, pilfer, appropriate, lift, hook, rob, snatch, crib, sneak, nip, poach, embezzle, thieve, flog, prig, seize

Definitions

v. 1
To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal.

Related words

Word family: purloiner

Forms

Past participle: purloined
e.g. purloined → abstracted, swiped, filched, pinched…

Choose the right word

Purloin, Withdrawing, Abstract, Appropriate or Steal?

The central idea of withdrawing makes abstract in common speech a euphemism for appropriate (unlawfully), purloin, steal.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

steal I didn't steal it. I just borrowed it permanently.
abstract Young children are incapable of abstract thinking.
swipe Swipe either left or right to see another animal.
filch When I was a kid, I used to filch candy bars all the time.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
purloin		steady
steal		rising
abstract		falling
swipe		rising
filch		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: rob¹, nip¹
4 letters: lift¹, hook¹, crib¹, flog¹, prig¹
5 letters: steal¹, sneak¹, pinch¹, seize¹, swipe¹, poach¹, filch¹
6 letters: snatch¹, pilfer², thieve¹
7 letters: cabbage²
8 letters: abstract², embezzle³
11 letters: appropriate⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (pilfer² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: dépouiller
Deutsch: häuten