Word of the Day 05/11/25 Usurp

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Usurp (verb)
usurp [ yoo-surp, -zurp ]

verb (used with object)
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)
3. to commit forcible or illegal seizure of an office, power, etc.; encroach.

Other Word Forms
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

Related Words
annex, preempt, supplant, wrest

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com

Origin: 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” ( use ) + -rp-, reduced form of -rip-, combining form of rapere “to seize” + -āre infinitive ending

Example Sentences
In his appeal, Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer accused the judges of overstepping their authority and “usurping the Executive Branch’s authority to determine who may serve in the Nation’s armed forces.”
From Los Angeles Times

The analyst or executive coming into the clubhouse might be there to help the manager and coaches, not to usurp their authority.
From Los Angeles Times

In the U.S. two-party system, it has swallowed one of the two existing parties, usurping the role of conservatism and exploiting traditional party loyalties.
From Salon

With the decline of unions and so many other forms of civic life, media organizations have filled the void and have even usurped some of the traditional duties political parties once played….
From Salon

Tom Welsh was drafted in from the Loughborough Academy as a short-term hire for Indian Wells, only for Vladimir Platenik to usurp him by arriving in California for a hastily arranged trial.
From BBC

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