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   usurp

   /juːˈzəːp/

   verb

   • 1. take (a position of power or importance) illegally or by force: "Richard usurped the throne" Similar seizetake overexpropriatetake possession oftakeappropriatestealwrestarrogatecommandeerannexassumelay claim to
   • ▪ take the place of (someone in a position of power) illegally; supplant: "the Hanoverian dynasty had usurped the Stuarts" Similar oustoverthrowremovetoppleunseatdeposedethroneejectdispelsucceedcome afterstep into the shoes ofsupplantreplaceinformal:fill someone's bootscrowd outdefenestratearchaic:deprive
   • ▪ encroach or infringe upon (someone's rights): "the Church had usurped upon the domain of the state"

   Word Origin Middle English (in the sense ‘appropriate a right wrongfully’): from Old French usurper, from Latin usurpare ‘seize for use’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. usurpation noun

   Scrabble Points: 7

   • U

     1

   • S

     1

   • U

     1

   • R

     1

   • P

     3

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