usurpation

[yoo-ser-pey-shuh n, -zer-]

an act of usurping; wrongful or illegal encroachment, infringement, or seizure.

illegal seizure and occupation of a throne.

Origin of usurpation

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin ūsūrpātiōn- (stem of ūsūrpātiō), equivalent to ūsūrpāt(us) (past participle of ūsūrpāre to usurp) + -iōn- -ion

Related formsu·sur·pa·tive

[yoo-sur-puh-tiv, ‐zur‐] /yuˈsɜr pə tɪv, ‐ˈzɜr‐/, u·sur·pa·to·ry

[yoo-sur-puh-tawr-ee, ‐tohr-ee, ‐zur‐] /yuˈsɜr pəˌtɔr i, ‐ˌtoʊr i, ‐ˈzɜr‐/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Russians had no choice but face his final decision; his usurpation of political power is sickly humiliating.
To the Streets!
Anna Nemtsova
September 26, 2011
All government action is not a usurpation of individual freedom—it's a matter of striking the right balance.
The GOP's War on Teddy Roosevelt
John Avlon
March 9, 2010

Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Is this the rightful exercise of power, or is it usurpation?
Opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States, at January Term, 1832, Delivered by Mr. Chief Justice Marshall in the Case of Samuel A. Worcester, Plaintiff in Error, versus the State of Georgia
John Marshall
He gave them a recital of all the events connected with the usurpation of Amulius.
Romulus, Makers of History
Jacob Abbott
It is esteemed a usurpation of privilege to baptize on crossing the tropics.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
There is the beginning and type of the usurpation of the whole earth.
Pascal
John Tulloch

Word Origin and History for usurpation

late 14c., from Old French usurpacion, from Latin usurpationem (nominative usurpatio), noun of action from usurpare (see usurp).