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
What shouldn’t happen is for the federal government to arrogate to itself nationalization powers over what fans are so passionate about.
—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
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
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
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arrogate
Verb
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Hilton, running on a platform of affordability and lowering taxes, has seized on the sentiment, casting health coverage for immigrants without legal status as deeply unfair and a direct threat to the state’s ability to help citizens.
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So far this year, 17 tons of illicit drugs, mostly cocaine, have been seized in the Pacific region – more than three times the total across the whole of last year, according to the Australian Federal Police.
Verb
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The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in March upheld a complaint by Ukraine that Russia’s chess federation had usurped control of the game in areas of Ukraine captured by the Russian military.
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The two are separate, Bourne writes, even if, in war, the state tries to usurp the country and speak for it.
Verb
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Abu Safiya also had his eyeglasses confiscated during his detainment and since been experiencing vision issues, according to Abbas.
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The prisoners were at one point given life jackets, but they were later confiscated after guards found them being used as pillows, the court document said.
Verb
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There is an art to cutting a cantaloupe, which starts long before grabbing the knife and cutting board.
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Schmidt can be forgiven for making this headline-grabbing prediction.
Verb
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The cabana frame was lifted by strong winds before crashing into an area occupied by guests near the resort's pool deck.
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Law enforcement also linked Sanchez-Munoz to a June 11 shooting in which a vehicle occupied by an adult and a child was hit by gunfire in the area of Seventh Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.
Verb
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While speaking with the Daily Mail, Daveigh's mom claimed that her daughter struggled with addiction.
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Sina Azodi, director of George Washington University’s Middle East studies program, noted Israel’s attacks on Lebanon are an issue for Iran while the US could possibly interpret Tehran claiming to close the Strait of Hormuz as a violation of the memorandum of understanding.
Cite this Entry
“Arrogate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arrogate. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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