unseat
Americanverb (used with object)
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unseats,
present (3rd person singular)
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unseated,
past participle, past
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unseating
present participle
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to dislodge from a seat, especially to throw from a saddle, as a rider; unhorse.
-
to remove from political office by an elective process, by force, or by legal action.
The corrupt mayor was finally unseated.
verb
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to throw or displace from a seat, saddle, etc
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to depose from office or position
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unseatsimple
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unseatssimple
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have unseatedperfect
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has unseatedperfect
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am unseatingprogressive
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are unseatingprogressive
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is unseatingprogressive
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have been unseatingperfect progressive
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has been unseatingperfect progressive
Past
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unseatedsimple
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had unseatedperfect
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was unseatingprogressive
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were unseatingprogressive
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had been unseatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unseat
Vocabulary lists containing unseat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Pete Buttigieg went on the campaign trail last week with Conley to promote the candidate’s bid to unseat Lawler.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Now, Kushner is volunteering to unseat the Republican incumbent, who has been in office since 1997.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
He told the newspaper: "There has been, since I arrived at Cambridge, a very well orchestrated and co-ordinated campaign to unseat me from my position."
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
At one point, the rebels threatened to unseat the junta.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Bludgers never concentrated on one player like this; it was their job to try and unseat as many people as possible.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Cameron tried to neutralize that advantage of incumbency as he outlined his own policy priorities for Kentucky’s economy if he unseats Beshear in the November election.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
It’s unlikely that Nelson unseats Miller Moss as the Trojans’ No. 2 quarterback.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2023
Don’t be surprised if the magnetic Curry, who has four 40-point games already this season, unseats Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as an all-star captain come February.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 2, 2021
Telling these stories unseats narratives that we can’t reach our full potential without leaving this place, or worst of all, that we don’t exist at all.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2018
When the engine draws in a charge of air it unseats the valve and at the same time the air flowing around it is saturated with gasoline particles through the gasoline opening.
From Aviation Engines Design?Construction?Operation and Repair by Victor Wilfred Pag?
This week, the leader of our second-most-popular political party could be unseated in an election by a man who wears a floor-length cape and a bin over his head.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2026
Many of these winning candidates have unseated entrenched incumbents, as 29-year-old Colorado attorney Melat Kiros did to U.S.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
A recent Ampere survey of of sports fans found that football has narrowly unseated baseball as the number three sport in the US, with 10% of Americans saying it's their favourite.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna unseated his predecessor Alex Villanueva in a hard-fought campaign four years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
A hawk alit upon the hayloft railing and was unseated unceremoniously when a raven landed nearly on top of it.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
She was referring to the idea that Meta, or another competitor, could build agentic AI systems and integrate them into their own hardware products, unseating the iPhone as a hub for consumer-technology interactions.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Lungu, who led Zambia from 2015 until 2021, had numerous rows with Hichilema, who was the opposition leader for many years before finally unseating his bitter rival.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid announced Sunday they will run on a joint list in this year's elections, in a move aimed at unseating incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu.
From Barron's ● Apr. 26, 2026
There is no clear mechanism for unseating the regime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
He stopped short, as Ceph swerved to one side, almost unseating him.
From An Undivided Union by Oliver Optic
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
