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
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Recent Examples of usurped
And though preseason predictions pegged Marty Supreme as Gwyneth Paltrow’s big Oscar comeback, Odessa A’zion’s performance as a girlfriend with gumption has usurped the Goopster’s buzz.
—
Nate Jones, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
Trump has usurped Capitol Hill's Constitutional powers on spending money and waging war.
—Susan Page, USA Today, 17 Jan. 2026
Ekitike is usurped by a man who cost his new club nothing in terms of a transfer fee.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Vintage fiberglass end chairs and a pair of cushy benches usurped the traditional dining set.
—Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
But, in the United States, its role was usurped by Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, which made its début in 1828.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
But unbeknownst to the Germans, their international plan had been usurped.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
That role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or diffused elsewhere—whether in this case or in another case, whether in times of heightened national need or not.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The latter was set to be spun off into a new company, led by WBD’s current CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, with David Zaslav running studios and streaming, but this may be usurped by a major transaction.
—Peter White, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2025
Nate Jones, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
Trump has usurped Capitol Hill's Constitutional powers on spending money and waging war.
—Susan Page, USA Today, 17 Jan. 2026
Ekitike is usurped by a man who cost his new club nothing in terms of a transfer fee.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Vintage fiberglass end chairs and a pair of cushy benches usurped the traditional dining set.
—Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
But, in the United States, its role was usurped by Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, which made its début in 1828.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
But unbeknownst to the Germans, their international plan had been usurped.
—Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025
That role cannot be usurped by the Executive Branch or diffused elsewhere—whether in this case or in another case, whether in times of heightened national need or not.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The latter was set to be spun off into a new company, led by WBD’s current CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, with David Zaslav running studios and streaming, but this may be usurped by a major transaction.
—Peter White, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurped
Verb
-
In lieu of complicated controls and systems, these games seized on the high-energy gameplay of intense dogfighting moments, boiling it down into arcadey combat that was more accessible to the masses.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Gabbard was photographed in Fulton County on the day of the raid as the FBI seized 2020 election ballots.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
French authorities confiscated the cocaine.—
Jay Weaver
January 8,
Miami Herald,
8 Jan. 2026
-
While raising the kids together, Ruby and Hildebrandt abused the two youngest children with harsh punishments and torture, according to Ruby's journal that was later confiscated.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Baer grabbed the arms of his chair and began to stand.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
It was rapidly removed, but an image of the listing was grabbed ahead of that.—
Andrew Williams,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The sentencing follows a year in which mostly Chinese scammers stole a record $17 billion from regular people.—
Carlos Garcia,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
-
What settler stole this sacred land and is now charging me for these healing waters?—
Gaby Iori
January 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
And yet, is such a reclamation even possible after one has been annexed or occupied?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The company appears to be eyeing up the market currently occupied by Sonos and has its own ecosystem with a range of wireless speakers and streamers offering the same kind of convenience as Sonos but at more competitive prices.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In being converted into a hotel, the Renaissance-style mansion has been redesigned brick to brick, its interiors filled with a myriad decorative flourishes.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Outside the cell, the ATP is converted into adenosine, which acts on neurons — in this case, by exciting neurons that inhibit swimming and suppressing swim neurons.—
Ingrid Wickelgren,
Quanta Magazine,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The5Krunner has also claimed wearables commentator DC Rainmaker may be currently testing the device.—
Andrew Williams,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The authors never claimed to have demonstrated that such reading generates feelings of empathy, though others—including the New York Times—have sometimes confused those high scores as evidence of empathy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
His aides have pulled back funds appropriated by lawmakers, who constitutionally control federal purse strings.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The funds at issue are appropriated by Congress.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Usurped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurped. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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