usurp

English

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usurp

/juˈsɝp/ US
/juːˈzɜːp/ UK

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)p

Where it comes from

From Middle English usurpen, from Old French usurper, from Latin ūsūrpō.

verb usurps · usurping · usurped

To seize and hold or use (powers, an office, a coat of arms, a right or copyright, etc) from another, without right (usually by illegitimate means). [S]o he dies, But soon revives, Death over him no power Shall long usurp […]
To take the place of someone or something else; to supplant. But if now / You ſhould (as cruell fathers do) proclame / Your right, and Tyrant like uſurp the glory / Of my peculiar honours, not deriv'd / From ſucceſſary, but purchas'd with my bloud, / Then I muſt ſtand firſt Champion for my ſelfe, / Againſt all interpoſers.
obsolete To make use of. "[…] especially considering that even Matter it self, in which they tumble and wallow, which they feel with their hands and usurp with all their Senses […]"

Translations

Every language

verb seize power

Español	usurpar
한국어	찬탈하다 chantalhada
日本語	簒奪する sandatsu suru
中文	篡奪 /篡夺 cuànduó
Português	usurpar
Français	usurper
Deutsch	usurpieren
Italiano	usurpare
Ελληνικά	σφετερίζομαι sfeterízomai
Română	uzurpa, răpi
Русский	узурпи́ровать uzurpírovatʹ, присва́ивать себе́ prisváivatʹ sebé, присво́ить себе́ prisvóitʹ sebé
العربية	اِغْتَصَبَ iḡtaṣaba, اِسْتَوْلَى istawlā, اِسْتَحْوَذَ istaḥwaḏa, اِنْتَزَعَ intazaʕa

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MLA

"usurp." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/usurp. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

usurp. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/usurp

Chicago

"usurp." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/usurp.

BibTeX

@misc{usurp_2026,
  title = {usurp},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/usurp},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}