as in to seize
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of usurp
No Blue Jay has usurped Carter in that category this October.
—
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Proposition 50 isn’t an offensive move to usurp power.
—Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 26 Oct. 2025
In September, the company's Cofounder and Chairman Larry Ellison briefly usurped Elon Musk as the world's richest person, according to a Bloomberg ranking, with a majority of the 81-year-old’s $400 billion net worth tied to Oracle.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Jokic usurps Nurkic Jusuf Nurkic became Jokic’s first backup center in unceremonious fashion, getting benched by Michael Malone 25 games into his third season.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for usurp
Andy McCullough, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Proposition 50 isn’t an offensive move to usurp power.
—Daniel Borenstein, Mercury News, 26 Oct. 2025
In September, the company's Cofounder and Chairman Larry Ellison briefly usurped Elon Musk as the world's richest person, according to a Bloomberg ranking, with a majority of the 81-year-old’s $400 billion net worth tied to Oracle.
—Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025
Jokic usurps Nurkic Jusuf Nurkic became Jokic’s first backup center in unceremonious fashion, getting benched by Michael Malone 25 games into his third season.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for usurp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurp
Verb
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On Iowa State’s next possession, TCU senior safety Bud Clark came up with a massive interception right before the two-minute timeout, giving TCU a great opportunity to seize control of the game with the Horned Frogs getting the ball at halftime.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Nov. 2025
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Pokrovsk would be the largest city Russia has seized since Bakhmut in May 2023.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Milwaukee Marshall High School confiscates a student’s phone until the end of the day for a first offense, requires a parent pickup after a second offense and issues an automatic suspension for repeat violations.—
Kayla Huynh,
jsonline.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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He once got caught with a knife, but correctional officers didn't confiscate it.—
Kristine Phillips,
IndyStar,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Maia’s horrified to realize that the bag was stolen; Tallulah’s mostly just annoyed she got caught.—
Caroline Framke,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
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Before his imprisonment, Chacón was arrested in 2024 on a domestic violence charge and, in 2025, was accused of stealing merchandise at a Walmart.—
Tamia Fowlkes,
jsonline.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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However, Cena outsmarted him by grabbing the chair, throwing it next to Dom, and pretending to be down on the mat.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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Security camera footage from a nearby apartment complex showed the naked man walking across the street prior to the incident, seemingly talking to himself and grabbing a sign, per NBC 4.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Beijing — When Ho Puay-peng first visited Beijing’s Forbidden City in the late 1980s, the Singaporean architect saw many of the historic courtyards used for storage, filled with garbage, and occupied by danwei (government offices).—
Fred He,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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The Detroit Tigers, who occupied first place the American League Central for 187 of the 194 days in the regular season this year, came up short for the second season in a row.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Inside the hole, that spin makes the ball roll along the cylinder like a mini-pendulum, converting potential energy into spin and then back again.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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That total recently got a boost from Father Joe’s Villages, which converted one of its downtown shelters into a detox and sober-living program.—
Blake Nelson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Usurp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurp. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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