Depose - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

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SKIP TO CONTENT depose /dɪˈpoʊz/ /dɪˈpʌʊz/ IPA guide

Other forms: deposed; deposing; deposes

When you force someone in authority out of office — a politician, a king, or a cheerleading captain — you depose them.

The word almost always associated with an act of deposition is coup, meaning a sudden act of overthrowing of the government. Sometimes bloodless, more often not. On a less dramatic scale, lawyers depose less exalted folk every day; it means they take evidence from them under oath, possibly to be used in a court case later. Often those giving evidence (mobsters, murderers, financial scammers, etc,) are unwilling to talk to lawyers, hence the suggestion of a stripping away of power and dignity implicit in the term depose.

Definitions of depose

verb force to leave (an office) synonyms: force out see moresee less types: bring down, overthrow, overturn, subvert, topple cause the downfall of; of rulers revolutionize overthrow by a revolution, of governments type of: boot out, drum out, expel, kick out, oust, throw out remove from a position or office
verb make a deposition; declare under oath synonyms: depone, swear see moresee less type of: declare state emphatically and authoritatively

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