usurp
to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right: The pretender tried to usurp the throne.
to use without authority or right; employ wrongfully: The magazine usurped copyrighted material.
to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc.; encroach.
Origin of usurp
1Other words from usurp
- u·surp·er, noun
- u·surp·ing·ly, adverb
- non·u·surp·ing, adjective
- non·u·surp·ing·ly, adverb
- self-u·surp, verb (used without object)
- un·u·surp·ing, adjective
Words Nearby usurp
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use usurp in a sentence
Howard has usurped the 2017-18 Missouri Tigers as the worst team by percentage of previous-season wins to land a five-star recruit.
What Does Makur Maker Mean For The Future Of HBCU Sports? | Josh Planos | November 24, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThere’s no shortage of stories of brands losing control on Amazon, from counterfeit sellers usurping their sales, to Amazon launching competing products of its own.
Others, such as streaming usurping linear TV’s position among audiences and advertisers, may not become apparent for at least another year.
How the future of TV and streaming has – and hasn’t – been reshaped so far by 2020 | Tim Peterson | September 16, 2020 | DigidayInstagram may have the upper hand at the moment as the more established platform, but as the platform establishing a more direct way for creators to make money, TikTok has an opportunity to usurp Instagram’s position.
‘There is a battle going on’: TikTok-Instagram rivalry for creators heating up | Tim Peterson | August 3, 2020 | DigidayLess than a month later, Brett Mastrangelo attempted to usurp McConaughy’s record but had to call it quits two days in because of a leg injury.
Canceled Races Aren’t Stopping Endurance Athletes From Setting Wild New Records | Anna Wiederkehr (anna.wiederkehr@abc.com) | July 20, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
The Constitutional Court is “absolutely part of the old guard trying to usurp power,” he tells The Daily Beast.
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
The Conservative Crusade For Christian Sharia Law | Dean Obeidallah | February 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTMakes you wonder why conservatives care so much who sits on the Supreme Court—since they seem determined to usurp its job.
“It would be very difficult for her to come out and usurp power at this point,” he said.
Ignorance would take the place of learning, and slavery would usurp the domain of liberty.
Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions | George S. BoutwellMan will no longer try to usurp the place of God, and persecute his fellow mortal on religious grounds.
Ancient Faiths And Modern | Thomas Inman"I am going to usurp your assumed right to start this little private conversation, Akar Hekalu," he told him.
The Revolt of the Star Men | Raymond GallunThese events, although in themselves important and interesting, would usurp a disproportionate place in this history.
History of the Rise of the Huguenots | Henry BairdThe architect employed in this famous structure, fell upon the following contrivance to usurp the whole glory to himself.
The Book of Curiosities | I. Platts
British Dictionary definitions for usurp
/ (juːˈzɜːp) /
to seize, take over, or appropriate (land, a throne, etc) without authority
Origin of usurp
1Derived forms of usurp
- usurpation, noun
- usurpative or usurpatory, adjective
- usurper, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse