Thesaurus results for USURPS

usurps

verb

present tense third-person singular of usurp

as in seizes

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

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 usurps California courts have repeatedly refused to rewrite unconstitutional tax statutes on the grounds that this usurps the role of the Legislature or, in the case of an initiative, the people. — Jared Walczak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 July 2026 After witnessing Sinner miss 16 break points against the same opponent on Friday, Alcaraz would have been forgiven for worrying that something similar might happen to him — especially against arguably tennis’s greatest escape artist, at least until the Spaniard usurps him. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026 Jokic usurps Nurkic Jusuf Nurkic became Jokic’s first backup center in unceremonious fashion, getting benched by Michael Malone 25 games into his third season. — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurps

Verb

Now, her family must reckon with the consequences as Agnes van Rhijn seizes an opportunity to regain her position.

— Michael Schneider, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026
Sid is smart enough to sniff this out, and the show seizes the opportunity to raise the romantic stakes through an adorably British expression of mutual libidinousness.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of seizes

Verb

Arriving from Barcelona, the local landlord, however, confiscates Fagas’ America rifle, given to him by his father.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Large swaths of the film are composed of close-ups of people’s faces or hands, giving seemingly mundane exchanges and gestures — say, a moment when Evans, unimpressed with Holmes’s egg-whisking technique, confiscates the bowl — greater weight.

— Alex Barasch, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of confiscates

Verb

Lithium grabs the spotlight, but cheap and abundant sodium has long held the key to large-scale energy storage.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
Testing spoons stored in a manner where lip contact surface contamination could happen when employee grabs the spoon from container.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of grabs

Verb

Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo steals the ball from UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel during the second half in an Elite Eight game on March 29, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.

— Doug Feinberg, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
Plus, in the end, another chain, Sizzler, swoops in and steals all the cows.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of steals

Verb

Taylor Swift occupies the number two spot with a value of about $2 billion.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 9 Nov. 2026
Hundreds of civilians evacuated and children reunited with their families are victories worth celebrating, but Russia still occupies Ukrainian territory and the larger business of making peace remains unfinished.

— Anna Rahmanan, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of occupies

Verb

The forcefulness of their singing conveys desperation, but preempts so much of the nuance that enlivens their songs—the fundamental regret in their voice grinding against the fundamental determination.

— Stephen M. Deusner, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2026
There is currently a split among federal courts as to whether Kalshi, Polymarket and other companies can be regulated by states’ sports betting laws or whether federal law for commodities preempts states.

— Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of preempts

Verb

The pair’s winding route from River’s late grandfather’s country house to Diana’s beach retreat, which Slough House head Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) cheekily appropriates as a safe house, is a winding one.

— Alison Herman, Variety, 21 Oct. 2026
Tiki bars aren’t without criticism, having occasionally been attacked as escapist fantasy that appropriates Hawaiian or Polynesian iconography.

— Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of appropriates

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usurping

usurps

utensil

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“Usurps.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurps. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of usurps

verb

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