supplant

[suh-plant, -plahnt]

verb (used with object)

1. to take the place of (another), as through force, scheming, strategy, or the like.

   Synonyms: succeed, remove

2. to replace (one thing) by something else.

supplant

/ ˌsʌplɑːnˈteɪʃən, səˈplɑːnt /

verb

1. (tr) to take the place of, often by trickery or force

   he easily supplanted his rival

Other Word Forms

• supplantation noun
• supplanter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of supplant¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English supplanten, from Latin supplantāre “to trip up, overthrow”; sup-, plant

Word History and Origins

Origin of supplant¹

C13: via Old French from Latin supplantāre to trip up, from sub- from below + planta sole of the foot

Synonym Study

See replace.

Example Sentences

Traditional internet providers probably don’t have to worry much about satellite service supplanting core broadband offerings in the eyes of consumers.

Read more on MarketWatch

They may have been supplanted by digital job boards, but for much of the country’s history, they were one of the main sources to go to find work and workers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Above all, what one of Mr. Fox’s subjects called “a change of attitude to time” becomes necessary, with intense mental concentration supplanting deadline anxiety and rushed execution.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For more than a decade, Silicon Valley venture capitalists have poured enormous sums of money into newfangled technology companies seeking to disrupt, and even supplant, the traditional financial system and sidestep its burdensome regulations.

Read more on Salon

While it is still early, “ultimately technologies like this will likely play a role in supplanting every two weeks injections and taking daily pills,” he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• overthrow 
• succeed 
• supersede 
• undermine 
• unseat 
• usurp