as in to seize
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
the mayor usurped the school board's authority when he fired the principal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of usurp
Matt Ritchie left on a free transfer last summer, Jamaal Lascelles, the club captain, and Callum Wilson were injured and no longer mainstays and Trippier had been usurped as first-choice right-back by Tino Livramento.
—
George Caulkin, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
Thankfully this judge, unlike Congress, is unwilling to allow his power to be usurped freely without a fight.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 17 Apr. 2025
The door remains open, albeit slightly, for the Blue Jackets to run the table and somehow usurp the Canadiens to enter the playoffs.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
The 57-year-old insists that Grand Slam Track is not trying to usurp the likes of World Athletics, the sport’s global governing, and the Diamond League, which holds most of its events in Europe.
—George Ramsay and Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for usurp
George Caulkin, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
Thankfully this judge, unlike Congress, is unwilling to allow his power to be usurped freely without a fight.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 17 Apr. 2025
The door remains open, albeit slightly, for the Blue Jackets to run the table and somehow usurp the Canadiens to enter the playoffs.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
The 57-year-old insists that Grand Slam Track is not trying to usurp the likes of World Athletics, the sport’s global governing, and the Diamond League, which holds most of its events in Europe.
—George Ramsay and Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for usurp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurp
Verb
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Fifty years ago this week Communist forces seized the city of Saigon bringing an end to the Vietnam war.—
Greg Dixon,
NPR,
29 Apr. 2025
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Officials seized less than 50 pounds of fentanyl along the U.S. northern border in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the AP, citing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data.—
Mohammed Soliman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The pair collaborated on searching freight shipments, storage units and vehicles to confiscate drugs, targeting marijuana in particular because it was stored locally rather than sent to the DEA, according to officials.—
Olivia Lloyd,
Miami Herald,
21 Apr. 2025
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Some of them have taken advantage of the departure of foreign and multinational corporations from Russia by buying depreciated assets or simply confiscating them, generally with the support of powerful insiders, such as the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.—
ALEXANDER GABUEV,
Foreign Affairs,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The Pacers will return home for Games 5 and 7 (if necessary), which means the Bucks would need to steal two road wins to advance.—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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The return would be enough to steal Abbott from the Reds.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The game ended appropriately with Minnesota’s Naz Reid grabbing an offensive rebound off a Timberwolves missed free throw attempt and hugging the ball like Minnesota hugged this victory.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
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Keep scrolling for more comfortable and packable flats to grab this season from Amazon, Nordstrom, Zappos, and more—starting at $25.—
Aly Walansky,
Travel + Leisure,
1 May 2025
Verb
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That proposal would see Moscow de facto control parts of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions that Russia occupies but does not fully control.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Apr. 2025
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Amad’s second goal of the game comes from one such situation, with Antony occupying Taylor Harwood-Bellis.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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That converts to a 0.093% blood alcohol content by volume.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2025
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Moments later, Jake Guentzel was unable to convert on a golden opportunity.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Usurp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurp. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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