What does sequestrate mean?
Sequestrate means to set apart, isolate, or take formal custody of something. It may describe authorities separating people or materials for examination, treatment, or safety, but it is encountered most often in legal language concerning property. When a court sequestrates assets, those assets remain under the court's control rather than being freely used by the parties while a dispute proceeds. The word has a formal, technical tone and is considerably less common than the simpler verb sequester. Its distinctive legal usage separates it from ordinary acts of hiding or moving something: sequestration involves deliberate custody, restriction, or isolation with an institutional purpose. Understanding the word is useful in legal documents and formal reports, where it indicates that possession or access has been deliberately controlled rather than merely overlooked.
verbTo isolate or set apart something for special examination, treatment, or control; in legal contexts, to take possession of property and hold it until a legal claim or dispute is resolved.
- To isolate or set apart a person, object, or group for special treatment, examination, or control.
- To take possession of property and hold it in custody, especially by order of a court, until a dispute is settled.
"The court ordered the disputed funds to be sequestrate pending the final judgment."
"The officials sequestrate the samples while they are tested for contamination."
"The court sequestrated the company's assets during the ownership dispute."
From the Latin for “set apart,” sequestrate describes the deliberate isolation of what must be kept out of ordinary use or under special control.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sequestrate come from?
The word entered English in the early 17th century from Latin sequestrare, meaning “to set apart” or “remove.” This Latin verb was based on sequester, a trustee or person to whom property was entrusted. The related English noun sequestration and adjective sequestrable developed from the same Latin source.
Related word forms
How sequestrate is actually used
A formal and relatively uncommon word, found chiefly in legal, technical, and administrative contexts. The legal sense is more established than the verb's general sense of isolation.
Easily confused with sequestrate
To sequestrate is to set something apart or take formal control of it, whereas to sequester more commonly means to remove or isolate a person or thing.