depose

American  

[dih-pohz] / dɪˈpoʊz /

verb (used with object)

deposed, deposing

1. to remove from office or position, especially high office.

   The people deposed the dictator.

2. to testify or affirm under oath, especially in a written statement.

   to depose that it was true.

3. Law. to take the deposition of; examine under oath.

   Two lawyers deposed the witness.

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verb (used without object)

deposed, deposing

1. to give sworn testimony, especially in writing.

depose British  

/ dɪˈpəʊz /

verb

1. (tr) to remove from an office or position, esp one of power or rank

2. law to testify or give (evidence, etc) on oath, esp when taken down in writing; make a deposition

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Other Word Forms

• deposable
  adjective
• deposer
  noun
• undeposable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of depose

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English deposen, from Old French deposer “to put down,” equivalent to de- de- + poser, from unattested Vulgar Latin posāre, Late Latin pausāre; see pose ¹

Explanation

When you force someone in authority out of office — a politician, a king, or a cheerleading captain — you depose them. The word almost always associated with an act of deposition is coup, meaning a sudden act of overthrowing of the government. Sometimes bloodless, more often not. On a less dramatic scale, lawyers depose less exalted folk every day; it means they take evidence from them under oath, possibly to be used in a court case later. Often those giving evidence (mobsters, murderers, financial scammers, etc,) are unwilling to talk to lawyers, hence the suggestion of a stripping away of power and dignity implicit in the term depose.

Example Sentences

"Depose him, I suppose, and put his young son in his place," suggested Topham.

From Guns of the Gods by Mundy, Talbot

Depose me! if thou dost it half so gravely, so majestically, both in word and matter, hang me up by the heels for a rabbit-sucker or a poulter's hare.

From King Henry IV, Part 1 by Shakespeare, William

Marshal, ask yonder knight in arms, Both who he is and why he cometh hither Thus plated in habiliments of war; And formally, according to our law, Depose him in the justice of his cause.

From King Richard II by Shakespeare, William

From servitude to freedom's name   Free thou thy mind in bondage pent; Depose the fetich, and proclaim   The things that are more excellent.

From The Poems of William Watson by Watson, William

Depose me? if thou dost it half so gravely, so majestically, both in word and matter, hang me up by the heels for a rabbit-sucker, or a poulterer's hare.

From Characters of Shakespeare's Plays by Hazlitt, William

Related Words

• demote
• dethrone
• dismiss
• impeach
• overthrow
• unseat