seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"
Used in a Sentence
usurp
How to use usurp in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for usurp.
Editorial note
The reason given was that Apple doesn't want apps to usurp the home screen.
Examples16
Definitions2
Parts of speech1
Quick take
seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of usurp gathered in one view.
take the place of; "gloom had usurped mirth at the party after the news of the terrorist act broke"
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for usurp.
verb
seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"
verb
take the place of; "gloom had usurped mirth at the party after the news of the terrorist act broke"
Example sentences
The reason given was that Apple doesn't want apps to usurp the home screen.
You are the old and busted status quo that the new hotness will usurp one day.
Borne o'er the cruel firmament become Ethel\n That Fred hath usurp'st from her the silence\n When lo!
Anyone can fork the kernel, build a team of developers and usurp Linus.
Yeah, there is PadLister - my goal with that wasn't to usurp them with that, I just wanted to have a backup in place.
If by 'if by "if by 'if by whiskey'"' you mean to usurp primacy by passing judgement, I remind you, judge not lest ye be judged.
In about half an hour I had downloaded a live CD and burned it and broken into my own box with chroot magic to usurp root permissions to re-add myself to that group.
Regarding #1, I've found that it's best not to usurp higher management or do anything that exposes questionable decision-making in front of their peers.
Basically I'm a coup maker and there was nothing more that I wanted to do with this kid than to undermine him, usurp him and delegitimize his assumption of power.
Gosling would provide the credibility necessary if Google wanted to usurp Oracle as the provider of an "official" version of Java and/or the JVM.
I think it is possible that conferences and journals with new subscription models will slowly usurp a share of manuscript submissions away from journals with traditional models.
Instagram represents a diversification of Facebook's offering, and one which says "it's cheaper for us to spend $1bn acquiring Instagram than it is to make a compelling mobile photo app to usurp them".
I'd call the inability for Facebook to usurp control over Apple's vertically integrated platform to be a market advantage, not a liability, as long as too many users don't start clamoring for a facebook-iphone.
The study referenced is very worthwhile reading:The dominant version of American plea bargaining makes simi lar demands [to the Inquisition]: it requires the prosecutor to usurp the determinative and sentencing functions, hence to make himself judge in his own cause.
"However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.
Reasonable people can disagree about whether it's acceptable for someone who swore oaths not to disclose intelligence material should have released that material wholesale to Glenn Greenwald; about whether it's reasonable for one person's judgement to usurp the judgement of an entire elected government; about whether Snowden adequately minimized the material he disclosed to advance his specific justifiable cause, especially in light of the fact that even Greenwald hasn't revealed all the material he got.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use usurp in a sentence?
The reason given was that Apple doesn't want apps to usurp the home screen.
What does usurp mean?
seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died"
What part of speech is usurp?
usurp is commonly used as verb.