unseat

verb

1. (transitive)To dislodge or remove (someone) from a seat, especially on horseback.

   “The frightened horse reared up and unseated its rider.”

   “I was unseated from my bike after hitting an unexpected pothole.”

   “VVhom boldly I encountred (as I could) / And by good fortune ſhortly him vnſeated. / Eftſoones out ſprung two more of equall mould; / But I them both with equall hap defeated: […]”

   “But Conſtantine [the Great] […] diſplaced and unſeated this huge maſſe [an obelisk], yea, and thinking truly, that it vvas no breach nor offence of religion, if taking this admirable monument out of one temple, he conſecrated it in Rome, that is to ſay, the temple of the vvhole vvorld, ſuffered it to lye a long time, vvhiles neceſſarie meanes for the tranſlation thereof vvere a providing.”

   “His horſe, as he had caught he maſter's mood, / Snorting, and ſtarting into ſudden rage, / Unbidden, and not novv to be controul'd, / Rusſh'd to the cliff, and having reach'd it, ſtood / At once the shock unſeated him.”

2. (figuratively, transitive)To remove (someone) from an office or position, especially a political one; to dethrone.

   “After having lost her seat to a Tory, she succeeded in unseating him in the next general election.”

   “India has recently unseated China as the world’s most populous country.”

   “And thus thoſe Forts vvhich vvere erected to defend the Crovvne, firſt offended the King, ſome fevv vvhereof as he recouered, he flatted to the ground, and vviſhed the other no higher vvalls; ſtill ſvvearing by Gods Birth (his vſuall Oath) hee vvould not ſlightly bee vnſeated of his Crovvne, and vvondring vvhat ſhould mooue them, vvho had ſo readilie aduanced him, ſo ſpeedily to vnſtate him.”

   “But notvvithſtanding all theſe endeavours of theirs, the nine aforementioned VVorthies are reſolved not to part ſo tamely from their Commands, but having made their party as ſtrong as they could, reſolved next morning to unſeat the Parliament once more; […]”

   “We carried through our man with great eclat, though protests were taken by the other candidate against so many of our votes, that, had one third of the exceptions held good, it was clear the Governor must be unseated.”

3. (figuratively, transitive)To cause (something) to be removed or replaced in its role; to displace, to overturn.

   “The Michelson-Morley experiment prompted scientists to unseat their belief in the luminiferous aether.”

   “Printed newspapers are gradually being unseated by digital publications.”

   “Eleanor sank upon his bosom, and sobbed as if her heart were bursting with its transport; and poor Susan laughed and wept alternately, till Mr. Blandley, who by this time had heard of the occurrence and reached the court-room, was fearful that her reason would be totally unseated.”

   “[…] I pray thee, ask no more; for, like my poor mother, I feel as if the probing of the wound would half unseat my reason.”

   “"I see that you have had some great trouble," responded Holmes. / "God knows I have!—a trouble which is enough to unseat my reason, so sudden and so terrible is it.[…]"”

4. (figuratively, transitive)To upset the composure of (someone); to astound, to shock, to unsettle.

   “The Matrix (1999) utterly unseated audiences around the world with its mind-blowing plot twist.”

   “I was somewhat unseated by the strange noises outside my window.”

   “"Heart up, heart up, my boy!" he exclaimed. "The horrors of war must not unseat a soldier thus"—but the other interrupted him, muttering huskily: / "You did not see—not recognise?" and as he spoke the astonishment on his face was accompanied by a look of almost awestruck unbelief.”

   “Thereafter he held his peace, protesting not at all when it was generally agreed that the collapse of certain squalid brick houses in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, and the consequent death of many brave officers, had unseated his nervous equilibrium.”

   “No giant roast, no towering ham or sinewy wild fowl, can unseat an expert carver armed with a keen weapon.”

5. (intransitive)To come off or out of a seat.

   “We replaced the screws, since the old ones unseated too easily.”

   “When the feed-valve unseats, air begins to enter the train line and the black hand moves up; […]”

   “When the pump plunger is moved upward, the flat on top of the cup unseats from the flat on the plunger head and allows free movement of fuel through the inside of the cup into the bottom of the pump well.”

   “Pull the trigger and the end or needle portion of a spring-loaded shaft unseats from an opening to allow liquid or air to pass through.”

   “Using a screwdriver from the trunk of the Camaro, he opened the housing. The short screws unseated quickly and he set aside the lid.”