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

That official would, in effect, supplant the supervisors as the top decision-maker for the facilities, setting budgets and hiring staffers.

From Los Angeles Times

Using the military to supplant the government of California or Los Angeles would undoubtedly be unlawful.

From Salon

Overlooked by the Lions this summer and supplanted by Marcus Smith in England's first-choice XI, he seized his opportunity to impress.

From BBC

Ranking systems, performance metrics and austerity budgets have supplanted public investment, intellectual freedom and pedagogical citizenship.

From Salon

"Like any reader aspiring to be a writer, Anthropic's LLMs trained upon works, not to race ahead and replicate or supplant them — but to turn a hard corner and create something different," Judge Alsup wrote.

From BBC

Related Words

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