co-opted; co-opting; co-opts
1
a
: to choose or elect as a member
members co-opted to the committee
b
: to appoint as a colleague or assistant
2
a
: to take into a group (such as a faction, movement, or culture) : absorb, assimilate
The students are co-opted by a system they serve even in their struggle against it.—
A. C. Danto
A. C. Danto
b
: take over, appropriate
a style co-opted by advertisers
Examples of co-opt in a Sentence
the national organization co-opted many formerly independent local groups
Recent Examples on the Web
Once in a while, technology still feels easy and—dare I co-opt the world from Apple's marketing department?—even magical.
—ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2025
Unlike in dictatorships, this tends to involve not overt methods like book burning but quieter techniques such as co-opting media company shareholders to slant their coverage or using limited censorship supposedly designed to fight extremism or child pornography.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2 Apr. 2025
During his eight years in government, Uribe introduced legislation that sought to increase the powers of the executive, undermine the courts and congress, and co-opt oversight agencies.
—Laura Gamboa, Foreign Affairs, 31 Mar. 2025
This did lead to the abuse of progressive ideology, for example in Argentina, where Kirchnerism co-opted the human rights organizations and ultimately tainted their mission with political ideology, while allowing corruption to flow through them.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for co-opt
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ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2025
Unlike in dictatorships, this tends to involve not overt methods like book burning but quieter techniques such as co-opting media company shareholders to slant their coverage or using limited censorship supposedly designed to fight extremism or child pornography.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2 Apr. 2025
During his eight years in government, Uribe introduced legislation that sought to increase the powers of the executive, undermine the courts and congress, and co-opt oversight agencies.
—Laura Gamboa, Foreign Affairs, 31 Mar. 2025
This did lead to the abuse of progressive ideology, for example in Argentina, where Kirchnerism co-opted the human rights organizations and ultimately tainted their mission with political ideology, while allowing corruption to flow through them.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for co-opt
Cite this Entry
“Co-opt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/co-opt. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
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