Thesaurus results for USURPED

usurped

verb

past tense of usurp

as in seized

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

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of usurped Jason Speaking of football-loving families, the Kelces seem to have usurped the Mannings for the sport’s first family. — Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 1 Sep. 2026 Howie Roseman acquired Bigsby after Week 1, and Bigsby eventually usurped Shipley as Barkley’s top backup. — Zach Berman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 When Shuja was usurped in Afghanistan by a rival brother, Shuja’s wife, Wa’fa Begum, fled to Lahore for safety. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026 Colby opened camp on the first string but has been usurped the past week by veteran Rob Jones, whose violent streak showed up well in Tuesday’s action against the Titans. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026 Mikesic said LivaNova’s actions usurped Cansler’s ability to request information from the company’s corporate representatives and witnesses as her attorneys prepared for trial. — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2026 His story is one rife with terror, pain and a sweltering rage that has usurped everything around him. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026 Season 2 was a major improvement, which was then usurped by season 3, which brought in new uniforms, new sets, and Michael Piller to head up the writing team. — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Aug. 2026 Since around 2020, the literary precinct of the social-media platform TikTok seems to have usurped older marketing and publicity strategies as a primary driver of sales. — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurped

Verb

Almost every house was then surrounded by adjacent empty lots that had been seized to ensure that no one else would build.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026
After spending over a decade pushing pop forward from its periphery, Charli xcx seized the zeitgeist in 2024 with Brat.

— Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of seized

Verb

York had a cellphone returned to him, but the $160 that police confiscated from him was given to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force as part of the plea agreement.

— Erick Mendoza, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026
York was arrested after responding to an online prostitution by the Miami Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, which confiscated his cellphone and $160 in cash.

— Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of confiscated

Verb

Ross also grabbed the woman by her ponytail and slammed her against the wall, causing injuries to her face and lip, according to the report.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
Israel, Iranian analysts have noted, grabbed territory in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria after October 7 and argued that doing so was essential for its security.

— Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of grabbed

Verb

Who stole the campaign lawn signs from their neighbors’ yards?

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, an employee at the Atlantic Palms Apartments called deputies Tuesday after reporting that Jerome stole a toolbox from a maintenance shed.

— Abby Dodge, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of stole

Verb

Built in 1784, the home was originally occupied by a prominent Salem merchant dealing in rum and Sumatran pepper.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Oct. 2026
The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that its air defenses overnight downed 646 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, occupied Crimea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

— HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of occupied

Verb

That’s part of why the offense struggled, particularly on third down as Miami only converted two of their nine attempts.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
Washington hadn’t converted a third down until its final drive, when Williams converted a third-and-11 pass, then hit a fourth-and-two bomb for 43 yards.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of converted

Verb

In 2002, 25% of disability benefit recipients claimed primarily for a mental health condition (or a learning or neurodevelopmental condition); by 2025, this had risen to 45%.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 4 Oct. 2026
Bidh further claimed that the Saudis were the first to leave once the front’s collapse began.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of claimed

Verb

Some Democrats in Congress are now calling for investigations into whether money appropriated for border protection is being used to promote the president’s political message.

— Luke Fountain, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
The president responded by saying his administration wouldn't spend the $257 million appropriated by Congress on renovating the building unless the building also bears his name.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of appropriated

Browse Nearby Words

usurpations

usurped

usurping

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Usurped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurped. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of usurped

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

etiquette

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes