ersatz

adjective

er·​satz ˈer-ˌsäts How to pronounce ersatz (audio)
-ˌzäts;
er-ˈzäts,
-ˈsäts;
ˈər-ˌsats How to pronounce ersatz (audio)
: being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation
ersatz turf
ersatz intellectuals
ersatz noun

Did you know?

Evidence of ersatz in English dates to the middle of the 19th century, but the word didn’t come into prominence until World War I. Borrowed from German, where Ersatz is a noun meaning "substitute," the word was frequently applied as an adjective to modify terms like coffee (made from acorns) and flour (made from potatoes)—ersatz products necessitated by the privations of war. By the time World War II came around, bringing with it a resurgence of ersatz products, ersatz was wholly entrenched in the language. Today, ersatz describes any substitute or imitation, especially when it’s inferior to the original.

Examples of ersatz in a Sentence

an apartment complex designed as an ersatz Mediterranean villa like everything else the restaurant served, the whipped cream on the dessert was ersatz
Recent Examples on the Web Sweaters and jackets were given wings; denim and sweats sprouted ersatz 24-karat fringe; anoraks trailed lace like a wedding veil, or a royal train. Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 Through vibrations, the rake becomes an ersatz hand. Chip Colwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 Others worried that covering the familiar limestone walls of the pyramid with new cladding would have the effect of turning the historic Giza plateau into an ersatz Disneyland. Julia Halperin, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2024 Glossy brochures portray the future of Mariupol as an ersatz Russia-by-the-sea, where any memory of Ukraine has been razed and replaced by Russian apartment blocks, parks, and boulevards. David Lewis, Foreign Affairs, 18 Jan. 2024 Jersey Shore, the reality show whose cast members were largely from Staten Island, was ersatz Jersey. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 At Lincoln Center, 60 pounds of ersatz snow gently wafted atop still more snowflakes — well, dancers dressed like snowflakes — waltzing onstage. Sarah Maslin Nir Kirsten Luce, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2023 The kludge is so technically difficult for digital technology to incorporate that other, ersatz methods of timekeeping — unofficial, but free of leap seconds and easier to implement — have begun to displace U.T.C., according to a recent article in the journal Metrologia. Alanna Mitchell, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2022 Both works are attuned to the allure of ersatz luxury in conditions of material deprivation, as well as the social and emotional effects of chronic lack. Jess Bergman, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ersatz.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

German ersatz-, from Ersatz, noun, substitute

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ersatz was in 1871

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Dictionary Entries Near ersatz

Cite this Entry

“Ersatz.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ersatz. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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