usurping

verb

present participle of usurp
as in seizing
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

Relevance

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 usurping Murray said that in recent spending negotiations, Democrats fought to include language to prevent the administration from usurping Congress’ power on spending decisions, but Republicans have declined to go along. — Kevin Freking, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026 The 6-foot-6, 308-pounder was at Wisconsin from 2020-24 before finishing at Illinois last season and entering the 49ers’ defensive-line rotation this season, perhaps even usurping Alfred Collins in the starting lineup next to Osa Odighizuwa. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2026 Last year, netizens coined a new term to reflect our growing disdain for AI bots slowly usurping our human agency. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 26 Aug. 2026 In this way, the tech is being used to elevate human intelligence, rather than usurping it. — William Jones, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026 Eggers made his name by deriding, and then usurping, the literary establishment, in the process defying the tired binary of pure artist versus sellout. — Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026 The opposition’s narrative that Hollywood is usurping home rule is entirely backward. — Keith Poliakoff, Sun Sentinel, 1 June 2026 But even with the UFC’s challenges, no rival promotion has come close to usurping the sport’s power dynamic. — Mark Puleo, New York Times, 21 May 2026 Hegseth and Feinberg, Phelan said, had imposed rigid control over submarine and shipbuilding decisions, effectively usurping the Navy’s authority, these people said. — Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 2 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for usurping
  1. seizing
  2. stealing
  3. confiscating
  4. grabbing
  5. occupying
  6. claiming
  7. converting
Verb
  • Troop movements over the past couple of weeks indicate the group is concentrating on seizing the southwestern highlands, which could then open the way for a push toward the government’s capital, Aden.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Counsel argued that seizing the ballots was necessary to preserve potential evidence before statutory destruction deadlines and to compare the total number of ballots with official vote records.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of seizing
Verb
  • Former police colonel Christiaan Prinsloo was convicted in 2016 after stealing more than 2,000 firearms from police stores and selling them on, including to gangs.
    — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The attackers were then able to obtain privileged internal access and bypass the normal customer-facing withdrawal process without stealing private keys, Mandiant reported.
    — Matthew Tan, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of stealing
Verb
  • The European Central Bank and Brussels also fear that confiscating Russia’s reserves would damage the euro’s standing and Belgium’s reputation as a financial safe haven.
    — Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Two decades later, the IDF would storm Palestinian community centers, confiscating flags and shutting down celebrations.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of confiscating
Verb
  • The catalyst was a headline-grabbing second-quarter loss of $154 million that likely sent trading algorithms to hit the sell button.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Lopez then attacked Hager, grabbing his holster, and the two men fought over the deputy’s service weapon, according to the arrest report.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of grabbing
Verb
  • Work to address the track-circuit issue — in which the signal system erroneously reports a train occupying a section of track — was underway.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026
  • After occupying fashion and media conversations since its release on Monday, the inaugural men’s style issue of New York Magazine was toasted properly on Tuesday evening with a celebratory dinner.
    — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of occupying
Verb
  • But anonymous Telegram channels claiming to be fact-checking organizations gained popularity and spread the false narrative there.
    — RENÉE DIRESTA, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Trans-exclusionary feminists like Julie Bindel or Kathleen Stock, and for that matter Davidson and Craven, enjoy regular access to the national media to delegitimize trans identity while claiming transgender people undermine women’s voices.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of claiming
Verb
  • The proposition is to connect China’s factories with its creator economy; Black Lake’s agents bridge the gap by converting ideas into designs, a 3D simulation, and industrial data sent to a factory.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Eventually, the interior fell largely vacant and the exterior acquired a second skin of billboards, effectively converting it into a scaffolding for ads.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of converting

Browse Nearby Words

usurped
usurping
usurps
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Usurping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usurping. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All