What does disappropriate mean?
Disappropriate is a formal verb meaning to withdraw or cancel an appropriation — that is, to undo the setting aside of money or resources for a specific purpose. Where 'appropriate' in public finance means to allocate funds by law or decision, 'disappropriate' marks the reverse action: revoking that allocation so the funds revert to the general pool or become available again. The word is built on the same Latin root as 'appropriate' and 'property', combining the prefix 'dis-' with 'appropriate'. It appears mainly in legislative, governmental, and accounting writing, and even there it is uncommon; most contexts favor clearer phrasings such as 'revoke the appropriation' or 'withdraw the allocated funds'. Because of its rarity and its visual similarity to 'misappropriate' — which means to embezzle or misuse funds — writers should take care that their intended meaning is unmistakable.
verbTo withdraw something from an appropriation, especially money previously set aside for a particular purpose; the reverse of 'appropriate' in the financial sense.
- To revoke or cancel an official appropriation of funds, returning them to unallocated status.
"The committee voted to disappropriate the surplus funds and return them to the general budget."
"The legislature moved to disappropriate the grant after questions were raised about how it would be spent."
"Unspent amounts may be disappropriated at the close of the fiscal year and folded back into reserves."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of disappropriate
Disappropriate derives from Latin roots via English: it combines the prefix 'dis-' (indicating reversal or removal) with 'appropriate', which comes ultimately from Latin 'appropriare', meaning 'to make one's own', formed from 'ad-' ('to') and 'proprius' ('one's own'). The same root gives English 'property', 'proper', and 'propriety'. The verb arose as a natural antonym of the financial sense of 'appropriate' and remains confined largely to formal fiscal and legal usage.
How disappropriate is actually used
A rare, formal term used almost exclusively in legislative, governmental, and accounting contexts. Most writers prefer phrases like 'revoke an appropriation' or 'withdraw funding'; 'disappropriate' is best reserved for technical discussions of budget law.
Easily confused with disappropriate
'Misappropriate' means to steal or use funds dishonestly for one's own purposes, whereas 'disappropriate' means formally to cancel or withdraw a prior allocation of funds.