Meaning of usurp in English
Verb
usurpEtymology
Middle English (in the sense ‘appropriate a right wrongfully’): from Old French usurper, from Latin usurpare‘seize for use’Definitions
1. seize and take control without authority and possibly with forceExamples
- « 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 »
- 2. take the place of
Examples
- « gloom had usurped mirth at the party after the news of the terorist act broke »