Usurp: A Definition
u·surp | yo͞oˈsərp |
verb [with object]
take (a position of power or importance) illegally or by force:
Richard usurped the throne.
• take the place of (someone in a position of power) illegally;
supplant: the Hanoverian dynasty had usurped the Stuarts.
• [no object] (usurp on/upon) archaic encroach or infringe upon (someone's rights):
the Church had usurped upon the domain of the state.
1 Richard usurped the throne:
seize, take over, expropriate, take possession of, take, appropriate, steal,
wrest, arrogate, commandeer, annex, assume, lay claim to.
2 the Hanoverian dynasty had usurped the Stuarts:
oust, overthrow, remove, topple, unseat, depose, dethrone, eject, dispel;
succeed, come after, step into the shoes of, supplant, replace;
informal fill someone's boots, crowd out, defenestrate;
archaic deprive.