cooptation

or co-op·ta·tion

[ koh-op-tey-shuhn ]

noun
  1. the act or process of being elected or selected into a body by the existing members:Investigators and judges are selected via cooptation, not recruited through a public selection procedure.

  2. the act or process of being assimilated or taken over by a larger or more established group:The revolutionaries declined to make specific demands as a defense against cooptation by established political parties or the labor unions.

  1. the act or process of taking possession or making use of something without permission:At the heart of punk ideology lies a harsh condemnation of modern society combined with a self-conscious sense of irony about the commercial cooptation of the message of this supposedly antisocial music.

  2. the act or process of being bribed or manipulated into changing sides:In order to prevent cooptation of their delegates, the organization changed representatives every few months.

Origin of cooptation

1
First recorded in 1530–40; coopt + -ation
  • Also co·op·tion, co-op·tion [koh-op-shuhn] /koʊˈɒp ʃən/ .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024