supersede
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to replace in power, authority, effectiveness, acceptance, use, etc., as by another person or thing.
-
to set aside or cause to be set aside as void, useless, irrelevant, or obsolete, usually in consideration of something mentioned.
The success of the vaccine superseded the necessity of a smallpox hospital, and the enterprise was abandoned almost as soon as conceived.
-
to succeed to the position, function, office, etc., of; supplant.
verb
-
to take the place of (something old-fashioned or less appropriate); supplant
-
to replace in function, office, etc; succeed
-
to discard or set aside or cause to be set aside as obsolete or inferior
Synonym Usage
See replace.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
supersedencenoun
-
supersedernoun
-
supersedurenoun
-
supersessionnoun
-
supersedableadjective
-
unsupersedingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
supersedesimple
-
supersedessimple
-
have supersededperfect
-
has supersededperfect
-
am supersedingprogressive
-
are supersedingprogressive
-
is supersedingprogressive
-
have been supersedingperfect progressive
-
has been supersedingperfect progressive
Past
-
supersededsimple
-
had supersededperfect
-
was supersedingprogressive
-
were supersedingprogressive
-
had been supersedingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supersede
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin supersedēre “to sit above or upon, forbear,” equivalent to super- super- + sedēre “to sit”; see sit 1
Explanation
When something supersedes, it takes the place of something else. The 5th edition of your history textbook supersedes the 4th edition. Most words that include super have something good going on. Supersede is from the 16th-century Latin for "sit on top," and it often means to replace with something better. A version 10 of a computer game will supersede, version 9, making it more exciting. Unfortunately, a person might be replaced too, as in "the younger running back will supersede the veteran player as he gets older." To supersede is generally a good thing, but being superseded is not always that great for the replaced person.
Vocabulary lists containing supersede
Grade 10, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
ASVAB Word Knowledge
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Power Prefix: super-
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But the US actions will "supersede" the Canadian case, Wednesday's statement said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
Faced with such potential destabilisation, the government may have felt it needed the new law to supersede existing legal protections for minority rights, according to analysts.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
Those laws often allow the state’s housing agenda to supersede preferences of the municipality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
Any beneficiary designations you have set up will supersede whatever is listed in a will.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 14, 2026
Her esteemed position in the community, with the church, and as someone who could speak almost unaccented English seemed to supersede her position as a woman.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Grandi argues that the logic behind “survival, not indulgence” supersedes any emotional connections tied to the food.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
District Judge Rodney Smith, a Trump appointee, said that the Epstein Files Transparency Act supersedes the normal bar on making the materials public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
I’m proud of those jokes because I felt like even though I am expressing a point of view I think the joke itself supersedes it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025
Like all service members, he has an obligation to the Constitution and the rule of law that supersedes following the orders of superiors.
From Slate ● Jan. 15, 2025
If there is a federal bankruptcy law in force it supersedes all conflicting provisions in the state laws on the subject.
From Government in the United States National, State and Local by Garner, James Wilford
Liggett Group LLC, where the court agreed in part with the tobacco industry that the congressionally mandated surgeon general’s warning about cigarettes already superseded any state-based failure-to-warn claim.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Our yearning to forget is superseded by our desire to understand why things are the way they are.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
"The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we've superseded it by a lot," Trump said at Mar-a-Lago.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
The A100 has already been superseded by Nvidia’s Hopper generation of chips and its latest Blackwell hardware, with U.S. companies using hundreds of thousands of those processors.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2025
If a product or enterprise doesn’t constantly reinvent itself, it is superseded, cast aside, abandoned without sentiment in favor of something bigger, newer, and, alas, nearly always uglier.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
The plasticity of digital information is superseding earlier modes of expression and expertise, as the printing press did the scribe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Sassoon’s letter also reveals that her office was preparing a superseding indictment adding an “obstruction conspiracy count” to the charges against Adams.
From Slate ● Feb. 15, 2025
Atty Emily Johnson initially said three weeks, but then cautioned that there could be a superseding indictment on the horizon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2024
First and foremost, the prosecution wanted Chutkan to resolve outstanding questions on what elements, if any, of the special counsel’s superseding indictment are affected by the Supreme Court’s decision.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2024
The last process is superseding the first two, which give a poor return of fat—a valuable consideration—and also involve the loss of a certain amount of glue.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
