usurped

[yoo-surpt, -zurpt] / yuˈsɜrpt, -ˈzɜrpt /

VERB

take over

Synonyms

STRONGEST

annex preempt supplant wrest

STRONG

appropriate arrogate assume commandeer displace grab highjack seize swipe take

WEAK

accroach barge in butt in clap hands on cut out elbow in get hands on grab hold of infringe upon lay hold of muscle in squeeze in work in worm in

Antonyms

STRONG

give keep leave let go offer refuse reject release

WEAK

give in relinquish surrender

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The pre-Virgilian sources suggest that Dido’s brother, Pygmalion, killed her husband and usurped the throne.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

The later stages of the show highlight a few transitional designers whose work either shaped or anticipated the Midcentury Modernist movement that usurped Art Deco.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025

The first of Shakespeare's history plays, Richard II sees the unlikeable and corrupt king be usurped by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke who goes on to become Henry IV.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2025

In 2023, according to Guiness, a farmer in Quebec usurped Cool Patch for the title to world’s largest maze.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2024

And then chaos usurped with his animal junto.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson