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substitute

/ˈsʌb.stɪ.tʃuːt/noun, verb, adjective3 syllables

Substitute means: someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult).

Synonyms for substitute29

noun, as in someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)

stand-in, relief, reliever, backup, fill-in

noun, as in an athlete who plays only when a starter on the team is replaced

reserve, second-stringer

noun, as in a person or thing that takes or can take the place of another

replacement

verb, as in put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items

replace, interchange, exchange

verb, as in be a substitute

sub, stand in, fill in

verb, as in act as a substitute

deputize, deputise, step in

adjective, as in serving or used in place of another

alternate, alternative, secondary

adjective, as in artificial and inferior

ersatz, artificial, unreal

adjective, as in capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team

utility, secondary

also used for substitute

swap, substituend, surrogate, ghost, proxy

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does substitute mean?9

noun

1

someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)“the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes”

2

an athlete who plays only when a starter on the team is replaced

3

a person or thing that takes or can take the place of another

adjective

1

serving or used in place of another“an alternative plan”

2

artificial and inferior“ersatz coffee”

3

capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team“a utility infielder”

verb

1

put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items“the con artist replaced the original with a fake Rembrandt”

2

be a substitute“The young teacher had to substitute for the sick colleague”

3

act as a substitute“She stood in for the soprano who suffered from a cold”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Substitute in a sentence

  • If vermouth is not available, substitute with rum.ajje
  • In those days, ordinary folk couldn't afford real coffee, so they drank coffee substitute.sundown
  • In those days, people could not afford real coffee, so they drank coffee substitute.sundown
  • Because the teacher was sick, they sent a substitute.DJ_Saidez
  • In culinary, can you substitute sodium bromide for sodium chloride?mervert1
  • Moreover, for your safety, we advise use of a substitute email address.fcbond
  • We encounter similar difficulties when we substitute rectangles for triangles in this configuration.unknown
  • I persuaded her to substitute for me in that job.unknown

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of substitute

as a noun

plural
substitutes

as a verb

past tense
substituted
present participle
substituting
third-person singular
substitutes
past participle
substituted