substitute

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sub·sti·tute / ˈsəbstiˌt(y)oōt/ • n. a person or thing acting or serving in place of another: soy milk is used as a substitute for dairy milk. ∎  a sports player nominated as eligible to replace another after a game has begun. ∎  Psychol. a person or thing that becomes the object of love or other emotion deprived of its natural outlet: a father substitute.• v. [tr.] use or add in place of: dried rosemary can be substituted for the fresh herb. ∎  [intr.] act or serve as a substitute: I found someone to substitute for me. ∎  replace (someone or something) with another: customs officers substituted the drugs with another substance this was substituted by a new clause. ∎  replace (a sports player) with a substitute during a contest: he was substituted for Nichols in the fifth inning. ∎  Chem. replace (an atom or group in a molecule, esp. a hydrogen atom) with another. ∎  [as adj.] (substituted) Chem. (of a compound) in which one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by other atoms or groups: a substituted alkaloid.DERIVATIVES: sub·sti·tut·a·bil·i·ty / ˌsəbstəˌt(y)oōtəˈbilitē/ n.sub·sti·tut·a·ble adj.sub·sti·tu·tive / -ˌt(y)oōtiv/ adj.ORIGIN: late Middle English (denoting a deputy or delegate): from Latin substitutus ‘put in place of,’ past participle of substituere, based on statuere ‘set up.’

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