ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsUusurp
ISEE/SSAThard
usurp
Meaning: to seize power or a position without rightful authority
usurp in a sentence
How usurp is used in real sentences:
The ambitious minister attempted to usurp the king's authority.
The regent plotted to usurp the young queen's throne.
“The book's central claim was that clever officials should usurp authority whenever elected leaders seemed hesitant, even if no law permitted it.”
— from the passage The Unsmoothed Voice
Synonyms for usurp
Other words for usurp — seize, appropriate and commandeer — carry the same meaning.
- seize
- appropriate
- commandeer
Antonyms of usurp
Words that mean the opposite of usurp:
- relinquish
- surrender
- yield
Where it comes from
From Latin usurpare, meaning 'to seize or take possession.'
Memory hook
USURP sounds like 'you seize': to usurp is to seize power that is not yours.