dethrone

American  

[dee-throhn] / diˈθroʊn /

verb (used with object)

dethroned, dethroning

1. to remove from a throne; depose.

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

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

• dethronement
  noun
• dethroner
  noun
• undethroned
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Dethrone Martinez and Frampton will become his country's first bona fide world champion since Wayne McCullough in 1996. 

From BBC • Sep. 3, 2014

Dethrone me, desert me, and I will still be grateful to you for this hour of imperial happiness.

From Dawn by Haggard, Henry Rider

The monk resume his sway, the Roman legate In pomp march hither; lock our churches up, Dethrone our monarchs?

From Mary Stuart by Schiller, Friedrich

Dethrone, de-thrōn′, v.t. to remove from a throne.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Related Words

• depose