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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Usurp \U*surp"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Usurped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Usurping}.] [L. usurpare, usurpatum, to make use of, enjoy, get possession of, usurp; the first part of usurpare is akin to usus use (see {Use}, noun): cf. F. usurper.] To seize, and hold in possession, by force, or without right; as, to usurp a throne; to usurp the prerogatives of the crown; to usurp power; to usurp the right of a patron is to oust or dispossess him.
Alack, thou dost usurp authority. --Shak.
Another revolution, to get rid of this illegitimate and usurped government, would of course be perfectly justifiable. --Burke.
Note: Usurp is applied to seizure and use of office, functions, powers, rights, etc.; it is not applied to common dispossession of private property.
Syn: To arrogate; assume; appropriate.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Usurp \U*surp"\, verb (used without an object) To commit forcible seizure of place, power, functions, or the like, without right; to commit unjust encroachments; to be, or act as, a usurper.
The parish churches on which the Presbyterians and fanatics had usurped. --Evelyn.
And now the Spirits of the Mind Are busy with poor Peter Bell; Upon the rights of visual sense Usurping, with a prevalence More terrible than magic spell. --Wordsworth.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
usurp
verb
1: 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" [syn: {assume}, {seize}, {take over}, {arrogate}]
2: take the place of; "gloom had usurped mirth at the party after the news of the terorist act broke"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
56 Moby Thesaurus words for "usurp": accroach, adopt, advance upon, appropriate, arrogate, assume, assume command, break bounds, colonize, commandeer, conquer, cut out, displace, encroach, enslave, go too far, hog, indent, infringe, intrude, invade, irrupt, jump a claim, know no bounds, make an inroad, make free with, make use of, monopolize, mount the throne, occupy, overrun, overstep, overstep the bounds, play God, preempt, preoccupy, prepossess, pretend to, requisition, seize, seize power, seize the throne, sit on, squat on, subjugate, take all of, take charge, take command, take it all, take over, take possession of, take the helm, take the lead, take up, transgress, trespass
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |