usurper
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of usurper
First recorded in 1400–50; usurp ( def. ) + -er 1 ( def. )
Explanation
A usurper is someone who wrongfully takes someone else's place. A usurper usually tries to take someone's place on the throne, rather than someone's seat on a bus. If you were married, and someone cheated with your spouse and then married your spouse, you would probably consider that person a usurper: someone who took your place in a way that's shady or wrong. A king who is overthrown would consider the new king a usurper. Usurper is a strong word for someone who has taken or usurped what rightfully belonged to someone else.
Vocabulary lists containing usurper
The Tragedy of Macbeth
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Their Eyes Were Watching God
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This Week in Words : January 19 - 25, 2019
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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.
In this tale of an imprisoned queen, her supposedly dead husband, and her struggle against a usurper, brilliantly characterized arias succeed each other like jewels, ratcheting up the emotion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
As the manor devolves into something like “Lord of the Flies,” our hedonistic interloper uses this opening to become a usurper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024
For over 400 years, Richard III has been seen as Britain’s most infamous king — a power-hungry usurper who killed his young nephews to clear the way to the throne.
From New York Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
Mehmed regarded himself not as a usurper but as the rightful successor to the Byzantines.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
"Younger, bolder, and far more comely . . ." ". . . and a thief and a usurper besides."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
