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
Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2026
Through its doors, an ersatz ballroom, shrouded in a fog-machine haze, houses Regency-era ephemera and a dance instructor.
—Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 19 Jan. 2026
To mark January 12 as the ersatz holiday known as Quitter’s Day, Denny's has unveiled a menu full of ways to eat your feelings, all starting at just $5.99.
—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
Kids shrieked around the playground’s ersatz police cars, ambulance and fire trucks — part of a $30-million public-private rebuild backed by City Hall, billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso and Lakers coach JJ Redick, among others.
—Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ersatz
Cite this Entry
“Ersatz.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ersatz. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
Copy Citation
