Usurpation Meaning
/ˌjuː.sə(ɹ)ˈpeɪ.ʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe wrongful seizure of something by force, especially of sovereignty or other authority.
nounTrespass onto another's property without permission.
Sentence Examples
The usurpation of power by the military led to a time of conflict.
Usurpation is the act of taking something for oneself without right.
The citizens protested the illegal usurpation of power by dictator.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The general's ____ of the government led to widespread protests and international outrage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The historian described the ____ of power by the military as a turning point in the country's history today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English usurpacioun, from Old French usurpacion, from Latin ūsurpātiō; equivalent to usurp + -ation.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The third part of practice hath divers branches, but one principal root in these our times, which is the vast and overspreading ambition and usurpation of the see of Rome; […]"
— a. 1627 (date written), Francis Bacon, chapter VII, in James Spedding, editor, The Works of Francis Bacon, […]: The Letters and the Life of Francis Bacon […], volume IV, London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, published 1858, →OCLC, page 270:
"Sent from the God's to ſet us free / From Bondage and from Uſurpation!"
— 1685, John Dryden, Albion and Albanius, published 1691, Act I, scene i, page 10:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The general's ____ of the government led to widespread protests and international outrage.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The historian described the ____ of power by the military as a turning point in the country's history today.