substitute

[suhb-sti-toot, -tyoot]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR substitute ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.

(formerly) a person who, for payment, served in an army or navy in the place of a conscript.

Grammar. a word that functions as a replacement for any member of a class of words or constructions, as do in He doesn't know but I do.

verb (used with object), sub·sti·tut·ed, sub·sti·tut·ing.

to put (a person or thing) in the place of another.

to take the place of; replace.

Chemistry. to replace (one or more elements or groups in a compound) by other elements or groups.

verb (used without object), sub·sti·tut·ed, sub·sti·tut·ing.

to act as a substitute.

adjective

of or relating to a substitute or substitutes.

composed of substitutes.

Origin of substitute

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin substitūtus (past participle of substituere to put in place of), equivalent to sub- sub- + -stitū-, combining form of statū-, past participle stem of statuere (see substituent) + -tus past participle suffix

Related formssub·sti·tut·a·ble, adjectivesub·sti·tut·a·bil·i·ty, nounsub·sti·tut·er, nounsub·sti·tut·ing·ly, adverbsub·sti·tu·tion, nounsub·sti·tu·tion·al, sub·sti·tu·tion·ar·y

[suhb-sti-too-shuh-ner-ee, -tyoo-] /ˌsʌb stɪˈtu ʃəˌnɛr i, -ˈtyu-/, adjectivesub·sti·tu·tion·al·ly, adverbin·ter·sub·sti·tut·a·bil·i·ty, nounin·ter·sub·sti·tut·a·ble, adjectivein·ter·sub·sti·tu·tion, nounnon·sub·sti·tut·ed, adjectivenon·sub·sti·tu·tion, nounnon·sub·sti·tu·tion·al, adjectivenon·sub·sti·tu·tion·al·ly, adverbnon·sub·sti·tu·tion·ar·y, adjectivepre·sub·sti·tute, verb (used with object), pre·sub·sti·tut·ed, pre·sub·sti·tut·ing.pre·sub·sti·tu·tion, nounpro·sub·sti·tu·tion, adjectiveun·sub·sti·tut·ed, adjective

Synonyms for substitute

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1. alternative, replacement, equivalent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for substitution

trade, swap, change, exchange

Examples from the Web for substitution

Contemporary Examples of substitution

No prize transfer, assignment, or substitution by Winner is permitted.
The Orbitz Business Travel Survey Sweepstakes
December 14, 2012
The substitution of an effect for a cause is an old technique and trick of classical sophistry.
Demonization Is No Excuse
Hussein Ibish
November 20, 2012
The Prize is nontransferable and no substitution of the Prize by the Grand Prize Winner is allowed.
OFFICIAL RULES OF THE IMAX® Award Contest—Deadline Extended
October 8, 2012
Yet here is the great problem with Murray's substitution of imagery for numbers in his social thought.
What the Founders Would Tell Charles Murray
David Frum
February 7, 2012

Historical Examples of substitution

I presume you thought that we had no way of detecting the substitution?
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, October, 1930
Various
Was this officer in league with Sidney as to the substitution of some one who desired to save me?
A Romance of the West Indies
Eugne Sue
The humorist accepted the substitution as an additional absurdity.
The Booklover and His Books
Harry Lyman Koopman
He writes Arcadia for Euphues but the substitution is legitimate.
John Lyly
John Dover Wilson
The substitution of a comma for another point, or for a letter put in by mistake.
"Stops"
Paul Allardyce

British Dictionary definitions for substitution

substitution

noun

the act of substituting or state of being substituted

something or someone substituted

maths the replacement of a term of an equation by another that is known to have the same value in order to simplify the equation

maths logic

the uniform replacement of one expression by another
substitution instancean expression so derived from another

substitute

verb

(often foll by for) to serve or cause to serve in place of another person or thing

chem to replace (an atom or group in a molecule) with (another atom or group)

logic maths to replace (one expression) by (another) in the context of a third, as replacing x + y for x in 3 x = k gives 3 x + 3 y = k

noun

a person or thing that serves in place of another, such as a player in a game who takes the place of an injured colleague
(as modifier)a substitute goalkeeper Often shortened to: sub

grammar another name for pro-form

Canadian another name for supply teacher

nautical another word for repeater (def. 5)

(formerly) a person paid to replace another due for military service

Derived Formssubstitutable, adjectivesubstitutability, noun

Word Origin for substitute

C16: from Latin substituere, from sub- in place of + statuere to set up

usage

Substitute is sometimes wrongly used where replace is meant: he replaced (not substituted) the worn tyre with a new one

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for substitution

late 14c., "appointment of a subordinate or successor," from Middle French substitution, from Late Latin substitutionem (nominative substitutio) "a putting in place of another," from past participle stem of Latin substituere "put in place of another, place under or next to," from sub "under" (see sub-) + statuere "set up," from PIE root *sta- "to stand," with derivatives meaning "place or thing that is standing" (see stet).

substitute

early 15c. in transitive sense, 1888 as intransitive, from Latin substitutus, past participle of substituere (see substitution). Related: Substituted; substituting.

substitute

"one who acts in place of another," early 15c., from Old French substitute and directly from Latin substitutus, past participle of substituere (see substitution). Team sports sense is from 1849.

substitution in Medicine

substitution

[sŭb′stĭ-tōō′shən]

n.

The replacement of an atom or group of atoms in a compound by another atom or group of atoms.

An unconscious defense mechanism by which the unacceptable or unattainable is replaced by something more acceptable or attainable.