dethrone

American  

[dee-throhn] / diˈθroʊn /

verb (used with object)

dethrones, present (3rd person singular) dethroned, past participle, past dethroning present participle

1. to remove from a throne; depose.

2. to remove from any position of power or authority.

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dethrone British  

/ dɪˈθrəʊn /

verb

1. (tr) to remove from a throne or deprive of any high position or title; depose

   the champion was dethroned by a young boxer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dethronement
  noun
• dethroner
  noun
• undethroned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dethroning
  present
• dethroned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dethrone
  simple
• dethrones
  simple
• have dethroned
  perfect
• has dethroned
  perfect
• am dethroning
  progressive
• are dethroning
  progressive
• is dethroning
  progressive
• have been dethroning
  perfect progressive
• has been dethroning
  perfect progressive

Past

• dethroned
  simple
• had dethroned
  perfect
• was dethroning
  progressive
• were dethroning
  progressive
• had been dethroning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dethrone
  simple
• will have dethroned
  perfect
• will be dethroning
  progressive
• will have been dethroning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dethrone

First recorded in 1600–10; de- + throne

Explanation

To dethrone means to remove a king or queen from power, like when Mary, Queen of Scots was kicked out of Scotland. You can also dethrone someone less formally, as when you dethrone your school's fastest runner by beating her mile time. In today's politics, to force a leader out of office is to depose them — except in the case of a monarchy, when we use the word dethrone. It literally means "to remove from the throne" and therefore refers specifically to those who sit on thrones: namely, kings and queens. You can also use this word in a figurative way to mean "remove from a dominant position." So, for example, you can say that the new jump rope champion dethrones the previous record holder.

Related Words

• depose