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
Deception-capable AIs can be co-opted by bad actors.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
Long before Adolf Hitler co-opted the swastika as a symbol of the Nazi party in 1920, it was used around the world as an ancient emblem of good fortune.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 May 2025
But modern extremists have co-opted them to invoke a new war on Muslims.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 1 May 2025
Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party have cowed their liberal opponents, co-opted most of the Turkish press, purged and restaffed the Turkish military—with special zeal after crushing a 2016 coup attempt—and revamped Turkey’s intelligence service.
—Reuel Marc Gerecht, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for co-opt
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Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
Long before Adolf Hitler co-opted the swastika as a symbol of the Nazi party in 1920, it was used around the world as an ancient emblem of good fortune.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 May 2025
But modern extremists have co-opted them to invoke a new war on Muslims.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 1 May 2025
Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party have cowed their liberal opponents, co-opted most of the Turkish press, purged and restaffed the Turkish military—with special zeal after crushing a 2016 coup attempt—and revamped Turkey’s intelligence service.
—Reuel Marc Gerecht, The Atlantic, 19 Apr. 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 15 May. 2025.
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