co-optation

noun

co-op·​ta·​tion ˌkō-ˌäp-ˈtä-shən 

: the act or an instance of co-opting something : a taking over or appropriation of something for a new or different purpose

The co-optation of the raised fist as a patriotic symbol …

—Niela Orr

Wolfe's shrewd co-optation of hip style in service of a meat-and-potatoes cultural agenda won countless admirers, who hailed him as a brilliant satirist with a voice extravagant as America itself.

—Rand Richards Cooper

Examples of co-optation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Seger’s music also seems to have been less conducive to the sort of right-wing political co-optation that has persistently befallen Springsteen’s, Petty’s, and Mellencamp’s work. — Jack Hamilton, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026

Peter Magyar’s center-right Tisza trounced Orban’s Fidesz in parliamentary elections by a margin of nearly three-to-one, a stunning turn after so many years of Orban consolidating power with extrajudicial tools like gerrymandering, court-packing and the co-optation of an independent media. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 13 Apr. 2026

Janvier clearly understood Blaine’s co-optation of the phrase to mean that the United States sought control over the entire American hemisphere, including Haiti. — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025

Consistent with organizational theory, ambiguity about universities’ role in society could lead many institutions to become increasingly susceptible to corporate co-optation, political interference and eventual collapse. — Chris Wegemer, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2025

Critics also point to the corporate co-optation of Earth Day. — Monica Sanders, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for co-optation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation