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Usurp was borrowed into English in the 14th century from the Anglo-French word usorper, which in turn derives from the Latin verb usurpare, meaning "to take possession of without a legal claim." Usurpare itself was formed by combining usu (a form of usus, meaning "use") and rapere ("to seize"). Other descendants of rapere in English include rapacious ("given to seizing or extorting what is coveted"), rapine ("the seizing and carrying away of things by force"), rapt (the earliest sense of which is "lifted up and carried away"), and ravish (one meaning of which is "to seize and take away by violence").
Synonyms
Examples of usurp in a Sentence
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 June 2024
With a bigger navy and commercial fleet, China threatens to usurp America’s dominance of the waves.
—Michael Roberts, National Review, 17 June 2024
One bill would give unions and other private parties the authority to enforce labor laws, usurping the jurisdiction of the state Department of Labor and NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
—Kathryn Wylde, New York Daily News, 21 May 2024
But for centuries before 1979, foreign powers usurped Iran’s territory and violated its sovereignty.
—Karim Sadjadpour, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2022
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“Usurp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/usurp. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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Legal Definition
usurp
verbLatin usurpare to take possession of without a strict legal claim, from usus use + rapere to seize
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