How is the word supplant distinct from other similar verbs?
Some common synonyms of supplant are displace, replace, and supersede. While all these words mean "to put out of a usual or proper place or into the place of another," 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
When is it sensible to use displace instead of supplant?
Although the words displace and supplant have much in common, displace implies an ousting or dislodging.
war had displaced thousands
When could replace be used to replace supplant?
In some situations, the words replace and supplant are roughly equivalent. However, replace implies a filling of a place once occupied by something lost, destroyed, or no longer usable or adequate.
replaced the broken window
When can supersede be used instead of supplant?
The words supersede and supplant are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, supersede implies replacing a person or thing that has become superannuated, obsolete, or otherwise inferior.
the new edition supersedes all previous ones
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of supplantAfter all, Sanders supplanted Sean Lewis as offensive play-caller with Pencil Pat midway through 2023’s losing streak.—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2025 Social media site Bluesky has become the platform of choice for scientists, according to a new paper, supplanting Twitter/X in the years since Elon Musk’s purchase.—Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025 Oslo led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, a political leadership that has supplanted the PLO, and is now headquartered in the town of Ramallah, in the West Bank.—Literary Hub
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025 Their music provided a suitably self-important soundtrack as Great Recession-era artisanal hipsterdom faded into the careerist hopefulness of the latter Obama years, when Everlane minimalism supplanted lumberjack plaid.—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for supplant
Ron Marinaccio replaced Sears with one out in the fifth and threw a career-high three innings before Wandy Peralta went the rest of the way.
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Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
But a decision by Texas Republicans to redraw its congressional districts to favor the party in the upcoming 2026 midterms has spurred California Democrats to try and replace the independent maps — at least temporarily.
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