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as in to replace
to take the place of inefficient methods displaced by newer ones

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word displace distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of displace are replace, supersede, and supplant. While all these words mean "to put out of a usual or proper place or into the place of another," displace implies an ousting or dislodging.

war had displaced thousands

When can replace be used instead of displace?

The synonyms replace and displace are sometimes interchangeable, but replace implies a filling of a place once occupied by something lost, destroyed, or no longer usable or adequate.

replaced the broken window

When is supersede a more appropriate choice than displace?

In some situations, the words supersede and displace are roughly equivalent. However, supersede implies replacing a person or thing that has become superannuated, obsolete, or otherwise inferior.

the new edition supersedes all previous ones

In what contexts can supplant take the place of displace?

While the synonyms supplant and displace are close in meaning, supplant implies either a dispossessing or usurping of another's place, possessions, or privileges or an uprooting of something and its replacement with something else.

was abruptly supplanted in her affections by another

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of displace Since that day, when Hamas also captured approximately 250 Israeli hostages, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed or displaced, sparking worldwide protests. Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 22 Oct. 2025 Across Gaza, education has been displaced into makeshift tents or broken classrooms, where teachers try to piece together lessons between interruptions. Ghada Abdulfattah, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2025 At an asylum seeker camp in Reynosa, Mexico, a makeshift school had been set up inside a church to bring some sense of normalcy to families displaced by violence, poverty, or political upheaval. Cas Holman, Time, 21 Oct. 2025 Created for families displaced by ongoing conflict, the modular houses are part of a long-term project known as Housing NOW. New Atlas, 20 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for displace
Recent Examples of Synonyms for displace
Verb
  • But the lack of transparency and due process are similar, and there are few to no guarantees of the safety of people whom ICE agents remove, often without identifying themselves, and move around without notifying the family or lawyers of the detained.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Slowly but surely, the legal obstacles to taking games overseas have been removed over the past few years.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • At the end of the following season, they were relegated on the final day courtesy of defeat at Arsenal, where Wright was among the scorers.
    Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Social media is abuzz with rumors that Disney theme parks might not keep villains around the parks year-round and would instead be relegated to the Halloween season.
    James Factora, Them., 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The last American to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport was Logan Sargeant, who raced for Williams for nearly two years before the team replaced him.
    Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Now, more often than not, they are replaced by casual dinners, drinks and thoughtful gestures.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Baldoni, 41, has also been deposed.
    Elizabeth Rosner, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of Panama, spent time there following his extradition from the United States after the American invasion that deposed him.
    Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • If Doan’s Coyotes records were treated the same way Hawerchuk’s Jets records were, moving from one city to the next as a franchise relocated, then Utah Mammoth star Clayton Keller would be chasing him.
    Murat Ates, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Dinosaur mummy zone Senior author of the study, Paul Sereno, PhD, Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, and his team relocated the sites in east-central Wyoming where several famous dinosaur mummies were discovered in the early 20th century.
    Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The man in the suit, banished from Faik Ağa, had taken up a spot at Irfan’s café.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • When evil forces threaten their magical land of Coventry, the sisters have to band together to banish them.
    Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In a superseding indictment, officials added drug charges against the trio for possession of LSD.
    Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The company’s parent, SGO Corporation, was included in a superseding indictment filed in Florida federal count on Thursday.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Lowell also rallied down the stretch, scoring on its final possession to topple Billerica, 22-20.
    Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Because parliament was riven among pro-democracy parties, the communists, and the Nazis, Papen was able to govern by emergency decree But parliament could still topple his government with a vote of no confidence, and thus Papen needed the parliamentary parties not to actively oppose him.
    Time, Time, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Displace.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/displace. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

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