usurped

verb

Definition of usurpednext
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

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Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurped
  1. seized
  2. confiscated
  3. grabbed
  4. occupied
  5. appropriated
  6. commandeered
Verb
  • Before Hamas seized full control of Gaza in 2007, Christians would often place a large Christmas tree near a major square in Gaza City.
    Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Adebayo did not force his offense, in a game where there was little for the Heat to have to counter in the middle, but then seized control with his scoring late.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of seized
Verb
  • The airport bomb squad also responded and confiscated the fireworks.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The airport police bomb squad also responded and confiscated the explosives.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of confiscated
Verb
  • Neely had been shouting angrily at passengers on a subway train when Penny grabbed him from behind and restrained him in a chokehold for several minutes.
    John Bacon, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Dell immediately grabbed at his knee and Wayne signaled for team trainers, who spent several minutes working on the wide receiver while teammates waited anxiously.
    Kristie Rieken, Baltimore Sun, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of grabbed
Verb
  • One notable tweak is Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return to a traditional right-back role — by his own standards — having occupied more central spaces in Liverpool’s build-up during Klopp’s final season.
    Mark Carey, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024
  • Examples include things like running a stop sign, weaving into a lane already occupied by another vehicle, or stopping in the middle of the road for no discernible reason.
    Roberto Baldwin, Ars Technica, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of occupied
Verb
  • Federal employees are eligible for retroactive pay once funding is appropriated, per the OPM, and those who were furloughed could also receive unemployment benefits.
    Avery Lotz, Axios, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Since 2022, by contrast, Congress has appropriated $112 billion to the Defense Department to assist Kyiv.
    Elaine McCusker, Foreign Affairs, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of appropriated
Verb
  • As their escape car was almost out of gas and one of the tires had been shot out, the robbers commandeered another car, but the driver took the keys with him.
    Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The wily Canuck was practically invisible for the first three weeks of the season, a victim of far flashier payers (cough, Rome, cough) that commandeered all the camera time.
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
Definition of commandeered
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near usurped

usurpations

usurped

usurping

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Cite this Entry

“Usurped.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurped. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on usurped

Nglish: Translation of usurped for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of usurped for Arabic Speakers

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