Definition of "substitute" []

• One that takes the place of another; a replacement: "Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality” ( Barbara Grizzuti Harrison). (noun)
• Grammar A word or construction used in place of another word, phrase, or clause. (noun)
• To put or use (a person or thing) in place of another: "substituting moral power for physical force” ( Elizabeth Cady Stanton). (verb-transitive)
• Chemistry To replace (one or more elements or radicals in a compound) by other elements or radicals. (verb-transitive)
• To take the place of another: "Only art can substitute for nature” ( Leonard Bernstein). (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It may be admitted at once that when the term substitute is interpreted without reference to this basis of fact it lends itself very easily to misconstruction."
• "He would feel the want of you without having the satisfaction of fancying himself ill-used, and ---- for your substitute is altogether as good a Nemesis as one would wish to hear of."
• "On what we call substitute a reputation for decent treatment of minority shareholders so that firms can raise equity finance in the future."