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Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing

Co-opt

verb / koh-OPT / Medium
Meaning

To adopt, absorb or take over an idea, argument or group for a purpose different from its original intent

Origin / Etymology

Latin cooptare, 'to elect together, choose as a colleague' (co-, 'together' + optare, 'to choose')

Synonyms
Appropriate Hijack Absorb
Antonyms
Reject Repudiate
Example Sentence
"The 'spend better, not only more' framing of health financing can be co-opted as an argument against spending more at all, which would be a serious misuse of the evidence."
🎯 UPSC Usage

Useful for essay and GS2 answers cautioning against the distortion of a reform argument, e.g., 'efficiency arguments are frequently co-opted to justify austerity rather than genuine institutional reform.'

Relevant Subjects
Polity
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