substitute

English

Etymology

From Latin substitutum, past participle of substituo.

Pronunciation

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Verb

substitute (third-person singular simple present substitutes, present participle substituting, simple past and past participle substituted)

1. (transitive) To use in place of something else, with the same function.

   I had no shallots so I substituted onion.

2. (transitive) In the phrase "substitute X for Y", to use X in place of Y.

   I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.

3. (transitive) In the phrase "substitute X with/by Y", to use Y in place of X.

   I had to substitute old parts with the new ones.

4. (transitive, sports) To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.

   He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes

   • 2011 April 11, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, BBC Sport:

     Mario Balotelli replaced Tevez but his contribution was so negligible that he suffered the indignity of being substituted himself as time ran out, a development that encapsulated a wretched 90 minutes for City and boss Roberto Mancini.

5. (intransitive) To serve as a replacement (for someone or something)
   • 1987, James Tobin, Essays in Economics, Vol. 2, p. 75

     Accumulation of wealth by this route may substitute for personal saving.

Usage notes

The verb "to substitute" can be used transitively in two opposite ways. "To substitute X" may mean either "use X in place of something else" (as in definitions 1 and 2), or "use something else in place of X" (as in definitions 3 and 4). The latter use is incorrect^{reference needed}, but it is widespread and now generally accepted (see COED note).

Translations

to use in place of something else, with the same function

Arabic: استبدل (ar) (istábdala) Chinese: Mandarin: 代替 (zh) (dàitì), 替代 (zh) (tìdài), 替 (zh) (tì) Czech: nahradit (cs) Dutch: vervangen (nl), substitueren (nl) Finnish: korvata (fi) French: mettre (fr) en (fr) place (fr) de (fr), remplacer (fr), substituer (fr) German: ersetzen (de) Greek: υποκαθιστώ (el) (ypokathistó), αντικαθιστώ (el) (antikathistó), αναπληρώνω (el) (anapliróno) Hungarian: pótol (hu), helyettesít (hu) Italian: sostituire (it) Japanese: 替える (ja) (kaeru)(v.tr), 代える (ja) (kaeru)(v.tr), 替わる (ja) (kawaru)(v.intr), 替わる (ja) (kawaru)(v.intr), 代用する (ja) (daiyōsurú) (だいようする)

Korean: 대용하다 (ko) (daeyong-hada) Polish: podstawiać, zamienić (pl), zastąpić (pl) Portuguese: substituir (pt) Romanian: înlocui (ro), substitui (ro) Russian: заменять (ru) (zamenját’) impf., заменить (ru) (zamenít’) pf., (fill in) замещать (ru) (zameščát’) impf., заместить (ru) (zamestít’) pf. Serbo-Croatian: nadomjestiti (sh), zamijeniti (sh), supstituirati (sh) Spanish: substituir (es) Swedish: ersätta (sv) Welsh: amnewid (cy)

sports: to remove from the field and bring on another player

Finnish: vaihtaa (fi)

Noun

substitute (plural substitutes)

1. A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.
2. (sports) A player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.
   • 2011 November 3, David Ornstein, “Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke”, BBC Sport:

     Dean Whitehead opened the scoring shortly after the break with a low finish and substitute Peter Crouch sealed the win with a tap-in.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:substitute

Translations

a replacement or stand-in

Czech: náhrada (cs) f., náhradník (cs) m. Dutch: vervanger (nl) m. , plaatsvervanger (nl) m., vervanging (nl) f. Esperanto: anstataŭaĵo (eo) Finnish: (person) sijainen (fi); (of things, never people) korvike (fi), varaosa (fi) French: remplaçant (fr) m., substitut (fr) German: Ersatz (de) m. (1), Ersatzspieler (de) m. (2) Greek: υποκατάστατος (el) (ypokatástatos) m. Hungarian: helyettes (hu), pótlék (hu) Italian: sostituto (it), rimpiazzo (it)

Portuguese: substituto (pt) m. Romanian: substitut (ro) n., înlocuitor (ro) m., locțiitor (ro) m., substituent (ro) m., substituitor (ro) m. Serbo-Croatian: nadomjestak (sh), supstitut (sh), zamjena (sh) Spanish: substituto (es) m., sustituto (es) Swedish: substitut (sv) Tagalog: halili (tl) Telugu: ప్రత్యామ్నాయం (te) (pratyaamnaayam)

a player who is available to replace another if the need arises

Finnish: vaihtopelaaja (fi)

Irish: ionadaí (ga) m., (male) fear ionaid (ga) m., (female) bean ionaid (ga) f.

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Latin

Participle

substitute

1. vocative masculine singular of substitutus