depose

verb

de·​pose di-ˈpōz 

dē-

deposed; deposing

transitive verb

1

: to remove from a throne or other high position

plotting to depose the king

a deposed military leader

2

: to put down : deposit

deposing the sacrament in a carved recess

—Francis Berry

3

[Middle English, from Medieval Latin deponere, from Late Latin]

a

law : to testify to under oath or by affidavit

deposed before the court that he had seen the defendant enter the building

b

: affirm, assert

c

law : to take testimony (see testimony sense 1a) from especially by deposition

depose a witness

plaintiffs … were entitled to depose experts retained by the defendants

—National Law Journal

intransitive verb

: to bear witness

Synonyms

• defrock
• deprive
• dethrone
• displace
• oust
• uncrown
• unmake
• unseat
• unthrone

Examples of depose in a Sentence

a military junta deposed the dictator after he had bankrupted the country

she was nervous when the time to depose before the jury finally arrived

Recent Examples on the Web

The story of that secret anti-Maduro effort also lays bare the tensions between an administration with hardliners laser-focused on deposing the Venezuelan autocrat and a CIA deeply reluctant, yet nevertheless obligated, to follow White House orders. —Zach Dorfman, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024

Louis is slow on the uptake, so Elizabeth finally stops insinuating and just tells him to use Edith to depose the Valois dynasty and take the French throne. —Alice Burton, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024

After Marcos was deposed, his assets were frozen and 40 Wall Street was auctioned off, again, seven years later. —Zach Everson, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024

But the case is finally heating up after U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan on Tuesday granted Oakley’s motion to depose Dolan while also substantially limiting the scope of emails Dolan must share. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 12 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French deposer, from Late Latin deponere (perfect indicative deposui), from Latin, to put down

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

depose

verb

de·​pose di-ˈpōz 

deposed; deposing

1

: to remove from a high office

deposed the king

2

: to testify under oath or by a sworn written statement

Legal Definition

depose

verb

de·​pose di-ˈpōz 

deposed; deposing

transitive verb

1

: to testify to under oath or by sworn affidavit

2

: to take testimony from especially by deposition

plaintiffs…were entitled to depose experts retained by the defendants

—National Law Journal

compare examine

intransitive verb

: testify

the plaintiff deposed in person to many specific facts

—Mintz v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co., 72 S.E.2d 38 (1952)