You searched for: “usurper
usurper (s) (noun), usurpers (pl)
1. A person who, in violation of law or illicitly, takes over another's place, jurisdiction, or possessions unjustly: The usurpers treated the foreign visitors in a manner that was contrary to decent behavior.
2. Those who take control of a position of power; especially, those who do not have the right to such control or power: The newspaper described the usurpers as individuals who obtained and maintained authority over the neighborhood by force without any legal authority.

There were many usurpers in the late Roman Empire; especially, from the so-called crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became very common.

This entry is located in the following units: rap-, rav- (page 4) us-, ut- (page 4)