supplant
Americanverb
Synonym Usage
See replace.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
supplantsimple
-
supplantssimple
-
have supplantedperfect
-
has supplantedperfect
-
am supplantingprogressive
-
are supplantingprogressive
-
is supplantingprogressive
-
have been supplantingperfect progressive
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has been supplantingperfect progressive
Past
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supplantedsimple
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had supplantedperfect
-
was supplantingprogressive
-
were supplantingprogressive
-
had been supplantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supplant
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English supplanten, from Latin supplantāre “to trip up, overthrow”; see sup-, plant
Explanation
Kate was out sick for a whole month, and when she came back to school, Jessie had supplanted her as the funny girl at the lunch table. Supplant means "to take the place of." Being supplanted is something that often happens to ideas or ways of thinking. Encouraging children's freedom has supplanted old ideas about children being better seen than heard. After a shocking upset at Wimbledon, a new tennis player has supplanted the reigning champion.
Vocabulary lists containing supplant
The Tempest
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"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
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This Week in Words: January 5 - 11, 2019
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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:
While artificial intelligence can help advisers operate more efficiently, there’s little indication that it can supplant experienced financial planners.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
But even if AI doesn’t supplant intelligence analysts, can it influence them, or soldiers and commanders?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
City leaders hope F&M Bank Amphitheater of Long Beach, located next to the famed Queen Mary, will supplant declining revenues from oil extraction and lead to an uptick in tourism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
As those EVs gain market share abroad, Chinese software and AI may supplant U.S. rivals as the global standard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
This was the Rockefeller Foundation, which soon would supplant every other source as Ernest Lawrence’s preeminent philanthropic sponsor.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
This is a crucial piece to the puzzle, because production of one gigabyte of HBM supplants three gigabytes of other types of memory, worsening shortages down the line.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
Flawless has been proactive, Mann added, about building a product that aids rather than supplants authentic human performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2022
Their carbon footprint will further drop as renewable energy supplants electricity generated from fossil fuels in the years to come, she said.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2022
The real intrigue may be whether Pickett officially supplants Rudolph by then, a point that might be moot if a team calls inquiring about Rudolph’s availability.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2022
The treasures of the memory have been melted and dissolved, and are now gilding the object that supplants them; they are giving this object expression.
From The Sense of Beauty Being the Outlines of Aesthetic Theory by George Santayana
Framed this way, mathematicians are not in a race against A.I.s, waiting for the dreaded Kasparov moment when we become supplanted.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
Private mini-markets and clothing stores with well-stocked shelves have largely supplanted state "bodegas" and ration books in the past five years since SMEs were introduced.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
Those nominations numbers continued the shift that has been taking place the last several years as Cannes has supplanted the fall film festivals as the event with the most sway at the Academy Awards.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
In 1614, after Carr’s seven years in favor, Villiers supplanted him in the king’s affections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
He was one of the gods who’d supplanted Athena as a war deity.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
However the multinational bank also believes that a potential offering from Charter and SpaceX would fall short of supplanting any of the major cellular service providers in the U.S.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The evangelist Billy Graham solidified his appeal by supplanting hymns with the style of music to which teens and young adults flocked; Broadway even chimed in with the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
Klapper described the AI tool as a co-intelligence, akin to a “judicial sous chef,” that will support members of the bench without supplanting them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
As for world trade, the dollar still reigns supreme; no single alternative currency is anywhere near supplanting it.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2026
Compton was seized with a vision of Lawrence supplanting his own authority by the sheer exercise of will, abetted by geography.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
