Trivia Time

Which Shakespeare character usurps a throne?

Test Your Knowledge

usurp

American  

[yoo-surp, -zurp] / juˈsɜrp, -ˈzɜrp /

verb (used with object)

• usurps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• usurped,
  past participle,  past
• usurping
  present participle

1. to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right.

   The pretender tried to usurp the throne.

2. to use without authority or right; employ wrongfully.

   The magazine usurped copyrighted material.

---

verb (used without object)

• usurps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• usurped,
  past participle,  past
• usurping
  present participle

1. to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc.; encroach.

usurp British  

/ juːˈzɜːp /

verb

1. to seize, take over, or appropriate (land, a throne, etc) without authority

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• usurpation
  noun
• usurper
  noun
• self-usurp
  verb (used without object)
• nonusurping
  adjective
• unusurping
  adjective
• usurpative
  adjective
• nonusurpingly
  adverb
• usurpingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• usurping
  present
• usurped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• usurp
  simple
• usurps
  simple
• have usurped
  perfect
• has usurped
  perfect
• am usurping
  progressive
• are usurping
  progressive
• is usurping
  progressive
• have been usurping
  perfect progressive
• has been usurping
  perfect progressive

Past

• usurped
  simple
• had usurped
  perfect
• was usurping
  progressive
• were usurping
  progressive
• had been usurping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will usurp
  simple
• will have usurped
  perfect
• will be usurping
  progressive
• will have been usurping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of usurp

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin ūsūrpāre “to take possession through use,” equivalent to ūsū (ablative of ūsus “act of using, employment” ( see use) + -rp-, reduced form of -rip-, combining form of rapere “to seize” + -āre infinitive ending

Explanation

If you take over your neighbor's backyard and claim his in-ground swimming pool as your own, you might seize control of, or usurp his yard, but he'll probably call the cops on you. Leaders who usurp power don't ask for permission to take control of their country. They seize power, often with the help of a large army of followers. A usurper doesn't have to be human. A brand-new radio station can usurp the most popular station in town by playing a better mix of music.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

usurp usurps usurped usurping

For the most part, California has declined to usurp local governments’ power to decide what is built where, which has yielded relentless development of wildlands.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

Project 222 is what he and his team call it - 222 seconds being what he needs to target to usurp a mark that has stood for 27 years.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

There is also the strained relationship with her friend-turned-stepmother Alicent, who helped usurp Rhaenyra’s throne.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

Nancy suffered a fifth defeat in seven games since taking charge of the Scottish champions as Celtic missed the chance to usurp Hearts at the top of the table.

From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025

“Right. So how are you going to usurp Erudite?”

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

District Court for the Eastern District of California, argues the law usurps the NLRB’s authority “by attempting to regulate areas explicitly reserved for federal oversight.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2025

The filing also argues that the federal government’s refusal to surrender Hanson usurps the state’s authority.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 2022

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Palin said: “This is a jury trial. We always thank jurors. We always appreciate the system. So whatever happened in there kind of usurps the system.”

From Washington Post ● Feb. 14, 2022

Humbly, she understood that death sometimes usurps small liberties.

From Slate ● May 16, 2020

In some ways, she thinks he usurps what should be her role.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Hipsters war have now been usurped by a new stereotype: the tech bro.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026

Gemini 2.5 Pro, released in March 2025, and Gemini 3.0 Pro, released in November 2025, enjoyed brief stints at the frontier until Anthropic’s Claude models usurped them, Schwarz said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Ultimately, society’s ingrained fear of missing out on making money will be usurped by the fear of losing money.

From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026

The later stages of the show highlight a few transitional designers whose work either shaped or anticipated the Midcentury Modernist movement that usurped Art Deco.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

It was signs like this that usurped my self-esteem and my hope.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Newly shipwrecked on the island is Tolomeo’s usurping brother, Alessandro, who is having second thoughts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Apple had previously drawn close to usurping Nvidia by market value earlier this month.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Because birth rates around the globe have been on the decline for more than a decade, trends in pet primacy are regularly framed as usurping the rightful role of human children.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2025

But others worry about sports usurping resources and valuable attention that should be devoted to rebuilding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2025

It would not do to make him feel as if his mother were usurping his place.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

Related Words

• annex
• preempt
• supplant
• wrest