as in seized
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
the mayor usurped the school board's authority when he fired the principal
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Recent Examples of usurped
Vodka had overtaken gin in popularity by 1967, but by 2000 had fully usurped it, like Claudius to King Hamlet—occupied its position, married its wife, and taken control of its lands.
—
Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 21 Mar. 2026
In other words, the apparatus that became the modern movie camera, up until digital technology usurped the role that film cameras played in capturing the first 100 years of filmmaking.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 20 Mar. 2026
Most of those lands were eventually usurped for European farming and their inhabitants dispersed.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
This was of course usurped by my highest BPM recording of the day — a rate of 134 that coincided with my even more boisterous and jubilant reaction to 16-year-old Max Dowman’s 97th-minute game-sealing goal.
—Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
The table by the front door was entirely usurped by leashes, harnesses, collars, assorted car seat belts and, of course, poop bags.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
But streaming has usurped DVR use as a way to watch TV after the fact and is now the path to big audiences for network shows.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 5 Mar. 2026
The lawsuit claims the executive order is unlawful and unconstitutional, specifically that DeSantis has usurped the exclusive authority of the federal government to identify and designate terrorist organizations.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Look at how Taco Tuesday is circling the drain because the tariffs of President TrumpAlwaysChickensOut have usurped every other day of the week.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 21 Mar. 2026
In other words, the apparatus that became the modern movie camera, up until digital technology usurped the role that film cameras played in capturing the first 100 years of filmmaking.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 20 Mar. 2026
Most of those lands were eventually usurped for European farming and their inhabitants dispersed.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
This was of course usurped by my highest BPM recording of the day — a rate of 134 that coincided with my even more boisterous and jubilant reaction to 16-year-old Max Dowman’s 97th-minute game-sealing goal.
—Nnamdi Onyeagwara, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
The table by the front door was entirely usurped by leashes, harnesses, collars, assorted car seat belts and, of course, poop bags.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2026
But streaming has usurped DVR use as a way to watch TV after the fact and is now the path to big audiences for network shows.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 5 Mar. 2026
The lawsuit claims the executive order is unlawful and unconstitutional, specifically that DeSantis has usurped the exclusive authority of the federal government to identify and designate terrorist organizations.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Look at how Taco Tuesday is circling the drain because the tariffs of President TrumpAlwaysChickensOut have usurped every other day of the week.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurped
Verb
-
Edward Burke — then seized control of City Council and approved a new lineup of committee chairs and leaders.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
2 May 2026
-
Police stormed the gallery and seized two canvases—The Naked Man, depicting a nude youth gripping a monstrous phallus, and The Big Night Down the Drain, showing a Hitler-like figure masturbating.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Cemetery officials confiscated the notes and film of the two reporters, saying reporters needed permission to visit the cemetery.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Israeli police have for years confiscated Palestinian flags from Palestinians, accusing them of disturbing the peace.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Investigators later learned Hissom and her male passenger, who was wounded, were caught in a crossfire as a group of four or five men grabbed weapons from a vehicle and began firing at each other.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Aristide then allegedly charged at his brother, grabbed him by the neck and forced him to the ground, according to the report.—
Mauricio Maldonado,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
That Derby was won by War Emblem, a small-boned speedball who stole the race on the front end after having been sold by his geriatric owner to Saudi Arabian Prince Ahmed bin Salman for $900,000 three weeks before.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The Marlins opened the scoring in the second inning when Agustin Ramirez was hit on the left wrist by a pitch, stole second, advanced to third on an Ohtani throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly from Caissie.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Beginning in the late 1970s, it was occupied by actor, puppeteer, and voice artist Chuck McCann and his wife, William Morris agent Betty Fanning, who lived there for 45 years until their deaths in 2018 and early 2026, respectively.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Daniel Chong, 104 minutes Pixar’s latest family-friendly charmer depicts a land war — over a patch of earth that was once occupied by beavers and other wildlife and that human developers are eager to blow up for a highway.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Hungarians demonstrated that a moment of divisiveness can be converted into a moment of collective agency.—
Steven P. Dinkin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
-
The oldest bookstore on our list, Baldwin’s Book Barn in western Pennsylvania, was built in 1822 as a farmhouse before William and Lilla Baldwin converted it into the permanent home of their then-roaming bookselling business in 1946.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
William Cruz, 49, of Carteret, NJ, was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian causing injury and failure to exercise due care for the fatal crash that claimed Jenny Maribel Chacho Sanchez on April 17.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
30 Apr. 2026
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In 2013, Lozzi stood outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to protest a screening of the HBO film Phil Spector and claimed the project implied Clarkson had committed suicide.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cohen is careful not to let enthusiasm for the science bleed into endorsement of the wellness industry that has appropriated it.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The administration has refused to spend money Congress has appropriated, like for foreign aid, and has spent money that Congress has not appropriated, like to pay DHS employees despite a shutdown.—
Sam Gringlas,
NPR,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Usurped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurped. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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