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While often associated with questionable behavior by the royals of eras past, usurp retains its usefulness today. It’s still typically applied when someone takes power without authority or the right to do so, though the power taken is not necessarily political and the question of right and authority may be subject to debate; a city council usurping a mayor’s power is a more traditional use of the word, but one product can be said to be usurping market share from another, and one athlete may claim to have usurped GOAT status. The usurpation can even be sartorial: Amanda Mull, writing for The Atlantic, noted how tracksuits in the 1980s “usurped much of cotton sweatpants’ momentum toward legitimate coolness.” Usurp comes from Latin: usurpare, meaning “to take possession of without a legal claim,” was formed by combining usu (a form of usus, meaning “use,” which also led to the words usually and use) and rapere (“to seize”).
Examples of usurp in a Sentence
Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 1 May 2025
But digital technology has been used to obscure and usurp the truth about their lives.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2025
Those lawsuits — and others — argue that Trump has far exceeded the expansive powers of the presidency, usurping congressional prerogatives, trampling on due process and eroding free speech rights.
—Scott Neuman, NPR, 15 Apr. 2025
DeSantis had suspended Worrell in August 2023 and appointed Bain to replace her, generating national headlines and outcry from Democrats who said DeSantis had usurped the will of voters.
—Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for usurp
Cite this Entry
“Usurp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/usurp. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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usurp
verbLatin usurpare to take possession of without a strict legal claim, from usus use + rapere to seize
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