depose

verb

de·pose | \ di-ˈpōz

, dē-\

deposed; deposing

Definition of depose

transitive verb

1 : to remove from a throne or other high position plotting to depose the king a deposed military leader

2 : to put down : deposit deposing the sacrament in a carved recess— Francis Berry

3 [ Middle English, from Medieval Latin deponere, from Late Latin ]

a law : to testify to under oath or by affidavit deposed before the court that he had seen the defendant enter the building

b : affirm, assert

c law : to take testimony (see testimony sense 1a) from especially by deposition depose a witness plaintiffs … were entitled to depose experts retained by the defendants — National Law Journal

intransitive verb

: to bear witness

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about depose

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Examples of depose in a Sentence

a military junta deposed the dictator after he had bankrupted the country she was nervous when the time to depose before the jury finally arrived

Recent Examples on the Web

Social media has been filled with pictures of leaders at past Arab summits, noting almost all of them were now deposed except for Assad. — Sarah El Deeb, The Seattle Times, "Syria’s Assad: Last man standing amid new Arab uprisings," 13 Apr. 2019 Khrushchev recently had been deposed and under the U.S.S.R.’s new leader, Leonid Brezhnev,... — Gary Saul Morson, WSJ, "‘Stalin’s Scribe’ Review: Collaborator Laureate," 8 Feb. 2019 The motion, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, asks to depose Trump for no more than two hours. — Adam K. Raymond, Daily Intelligencer, "Stormy Daniels’s Lawyer Files Motion to Depose Trump," 28 Mar. 2018 Edward was born in 1330, the eldest son of King Edward III of England, whose own father, the ineffective Edward II, had been deposed by his wife and her lover and eventually murdered. — Stephen Brumwell, WSJ, "‘The Black Prince’ Review: When Knighthood Was in Flower," 6 June 2018 Such antics become all the more important as Trump faces the possibility of being deposed by Mueller in the Russia investigation. — Brian Bennett, Time, "Donald Trump Relied on Michael Cohen to Weather the Storm. Now The President Is On His Own," 12 Apr. 2018 After the war, Peter was not allowed to return to Yugoslavia, and he was ultimately deposed in 1945. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "Queen Victoria's Descendants Still Reign Over Europe," 17 Feb. 2019 The measures aimed at weakening politicians are seen as being directed at the Pheu Thai Party, which headed the government deposed in 2014. — Kaweewit Kaewjinda, The Seattle Times, "Thailand sets date of first general election since coup," 23 Jan. 2019 Gaga was deposed reportedly because Kesha had told her about some of her allegations against Dr. Luke. — Vogue, "Lady Gaga Fiercely Defended Kesha—And Sexual Assault Survivors—A Newly Unsealed Deposition From Dr. Luke Lawsuit Shows," 30 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'depose.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for depose

depose

verb

English Language Learners Definition of depose

: to remove (someone) from a powerful position

See the full definition for depose in the English Language Learners Dictionary

depose

verb

de·pose | \ di-ˈpōz

deposed; deposing

Kids Definition of depose

: to remove from a high office depose a king

depose

verb

de·pose | \ di-ˈpōz

deposed; deposing

Legal Definition of depose

transitive verb

1 : to testify to under oath or by sworn affidavit

2 : to take testimony from especially by deposition plaintiffs…were entitled to depose experts retained by the defendants — National Law Journal — compare examine

intransitive verb

: testify the plaintiff deposed in person to many specific facts — Mintz v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 72 S.E.2d 38 (1952)