List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words -
326
SYNONYMS:
replace, supplant, supersede.
These verbs are compared as they mean to turn someone or something out and
place another in his, her, or its stead.
To
replace
is to be or furnish an equivalent or a substitute in the place of another,
especially another that has been lost, depleted, worn out, or discharged: I
succeed Benjamin Franklin, as envoy to France; no one could replace him.
Supplant
often suggests the use of intrigue or underhanded tactics to take another's
place: Jones supplanting him in her affections, added another spur to his
pursuit. The term does not, however, invariably have this connotation: The
steam engine began to supplant the muscular power of men and animals.
To
supersede
is to replace one person or thing by another held to be superior, more valuable
or useful or less antiquated: In our island the Latin appears never to have
superseded the old Gaelic speech.
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