as in to seize
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
arrogated the corner office without obtaining prior approval
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Recent Examples of arrogate
But all of those ideas for spending or tax rebates, again, all of those are congressional authority that the president is arrogating to himself—something else that would have startled the founders of the country all those 250 years ago.
—
David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
Like Mao and Deng before him, Xi Jinping has arrogated to himself great power.
—Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Politicians exist to spend, and Congress arrogated to itself what was left over after existing Social Security recipients were paid.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
Trump arrogated to himself the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on the entire world, a power that properly belongs to Congress, and has caused turmoil throughout the economy; many economic indicators are now pointing in the wrong direction.
—The Editors, National Review, 29 Apr. 2025
Back before the federal government arrogated to itself an outsize role as financier of college education, the Wayne States of the world were where ambitious people who didn’t have a lot of money, who wanted to save money on college, or both, got their degrees.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
In every period, the essence of politics has been that a tin-pot tsar who wants to arrogate to himself the right to personal, unaccountable power needs to intimidate the honest people who are not afraid of him.
—Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
The Bibi Files uses a mix of talking-head history and in-the-room vérité to paint its picture of a leader who has arrogated power for corrupt and self-interested reasons — the allegations are of some $250,000 in gifts received in exchange for political favors — to his country’s detriment.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
Like Mao and Deng before him, Xi Jinping has arrogated to himself great power.
—Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Politicians exist to spend, and Congress arrogated to itself what was left over after existing Social Security recipients were paid.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
Trump arrogated to himself the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on the entire world, a power that properly belongs to Congress, and has caused turmoil throughout the economy; many economic indicators are now pointing in the wrong direction.
—The Editors, National Review, 29 Apr. 2025
Back before the federal government arrogated to itself an outsize role as financier of college education, the Wayne States of the world were where ambitious people who didn’t have a lot of money, who wanted to save money on college, or both, got their degrees.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
In every period, the essence of politics has been that a tin-pot tsar who wants to arrogate to himself the right to personal, unaccountable power needs to intimidate the honest people who are not afraid of him.
—Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
The Bibi Files uses a mix of talking-head history and in-the-room vérité to paint its picture of a leader who has arrogated power for corrupt and self-interested reasons — the allegations are of some $250,000 in gifts received in exchange for political favors — to his country’s detriment.
—Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arrogate
Verb
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Gil Messing, the Chief of Staff of Check Point, an Israeli cybersecurity company, said the FBI seizing the Handala site would help combat the perception of Iran’s cyber ability.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
19 Mar. 2026
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So, when Ozzie (Kyle Bary), a former child star, finds himself in a heap of trouble, Jax seizes the opportunity to spice up her daily routine.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Police officers also damaged photographic equipment and confiscated memory cards from journalists who were outside the Lion’s Gate of the Old City covering Ramadan prayers.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
21 Mar. 2026
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At the same time, CBP reported a surge in drug seizures after agents confiscating more than 79,000 pounds of narcotics nationwide last month, the highest monthly total since October 2021.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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So grab your Kindle or take a trip to the bookstore, because your TBR is about to get a lot longer.—
De Elizabeth,
Glamour,
17 Mar. 2026
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Gui Santos put up 18 points and four rebounds, and Gary Payton II continued his strong run of play on the offensive side of the ball by scoring 15 and grabbing six rebounds.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Overlooking the holy North Indian city of Rishikesh (where the Beatles visited in the sixties) and the Ganga river, the spa occupies 100 acres of the palace estate of the local Maharaja.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Mar. 2026
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The property occupies a lot of 5,400 square feet.—
Bay Area Home Report,
Mercury News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pahlavi’s team began putting out various plans to further erode the regime’s authority, calling on workers to strike and releasing a QR code through which defectors in the state security forces could sign on to his project, which Pahlavi claimed had elicited fifty thousand responses.—
Azadeh Moaveni,
New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2026
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The videos posted online appeared to show a prominent lawyer reporting corruption on the part of the mayor of Ljubljana, a close ally of Golob, and a former energy executive claiming that the prime minister was willing to privatize a key power company.—
Jan Bratanic Bloomberg,
Arkansas Online,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Arrogate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arrogate. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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