substitutes 1 of 2

plural of substitute

substitutes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of substitute
1
as in swaps
to give up (something) and take something else in return can I substitute coleslaw for potato salad if I order the chicken plate?

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
as in spells
to serve as a replacement usually for a time only substituting for the talk show host while she is on vacation

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in replaces
to take the place of "John Doe," "Jane Doe," and "Baby Doe" substituted the real names of the parties involved to preserve their privacy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 substitutes
Noun
On matchdays, the first sittings begin around five hours before kick-off, with the last one taking place around three hours before, usually taken by the substitutes who prefer to eat later. Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 29 June 2026 Senegal led the way with four goals from substitutes while Switzerland, Germany and Canada each had three goals off the bench. Miami Herald, 29 June 2026 Mayele put Congo ahead 10 minutes later when flicking past Nematov at the near post and was mobbed by teammates and even substitutes, who raced off the bench and across the field to join in the wild celebrations. CBS News, 28 June 2026 Starting tomato seedlings under lights, or in sunny windows, are not good substitutes for growing plants in the sun outdoors or in a greenhouse. Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2026 Yes, real toys are better than high-tech devices, but both are poor substitutes for growing up. Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026 But none of this substitutes for what organizations must do today. Bojan Ilic, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026 Odds and gambling platforms do not use methodologies used by traditional political polling, and therefore are not substitutes for political polls. Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 23 June 2026 Pochettino made two substitutes with 10 minutes to go in the match to send on some fresh legs as the USA tried to kill off the game. David Close, CNN Money, 19 June 2026
Verb
Finally, because Helms-Burton gave presidents power to block these suits, the majority concluded that this mechanism substitutes for the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act rather than coexisting with it. Manuel A. Gómez, The Conversation, 25 June 2026 No program substitutes for that. Desmon Yancy, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2026 But no technology substitutes for the human infrastructure, partnerships, and political will that made the old system work. Stephanie Psaki, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026 It is offered as rationale for below-market compensation, as though mission alignment is a form of currency that substitutes for pay. Charles Stanton, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026 The brand partially substitutes sugar with stevia and erythritol. Christopher Edwards, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026 The Landmark leans into organic design with decorative wood trim work and a palette of whites, browns and soft beige, while the Marisol substitutes the traditional colors of Mediterranean design for modern white, soft gray and taupe. Pulte Homes, Miami Herald, 11 May 2026 But the manner in which substitutes Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams, Nicolas Dominguez and two-goal Callum Hudson-Odoi transformed the tie had a sobering effect on the Wrexham hierarchy. Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 6 May 2026 Agreed, but this bill substitutes the long, painstaking and complex work of fixing California’s troubled insurance market with finger-pointing and posturing. Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 12 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for substitutes
Noun
  • In cases of cobalt toxicity linked to hip replacements, the symptoms usually develop over many months, not weeks, as in the woman’s case.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 2 July 2026
  • Ukraine's attacks damaged specialized equipment that is often sourced abroad, making repairs time-consuming and expensive as workarounds or replacements are sought by evading sanctions.
    ABC News, ABC News, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • In the new Prime Video series, Lexi Minetree plays the iconic character, who must adapt to a new high school as her family swaps Bel-Air for dreary Seattle.
    KiMi Robinson, USA Today, 24 June 2026
  • This summery twist on the decadent Italian dessert swaps out espresso and marsala for homemade berry syrup and fruit liqueur.
    Patricia S York, Southern Living, 23 June 2026
Verb
  • But were those two spells the best representation of Marsch soccer?
    Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 25 June 2026
  • If Ohio is suddenly in play, that spells big problems for a GOP majority.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 23 June 2026
Verb
  • Furniture Mall replaces about 150,000-square feet in what was once a Macy’s store that closed in 2025.
    Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026
  • This discrepancy, per the report’s projection, will worsen in the 2026-27 school year when STUNT replaces equestrian as a varsity sport.
    Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • Thomas regularly exchanges texts and Instagram messages with Alex’s mother, Leah, in Perth, while enjoying the company of his father, Damien, a former Australian rules football player, when the Condons travel stateside.
    Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2026
  • To address the challenge, the team designed a swap gate based purely on geometric phases, that exchanges the quantum state of two qubits.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Julia Gomez is a Trending reporter for USA TODAY and covers space phenomena, scientific studies and natural disasters.
    Julia Gomez, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • The partnership covers low-power DRAM (LPDRAM), NOR flash memory, and Universal Flash Storage (UFS) NAND products.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 July 2026
Verb
  • Just change a natural language prompt that generally supersedes everything else.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
  • At the end of the day, the power of the federal government supersedes all power, state power local power.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 May 2026
Verb
  • Fundamentals eBay trades at a discount to the industry while delivering stronger profitability than peers.
    Tony Zhang, CNBC, 1 July 2026
  • The engineer built an agent that trades BNB sell signals, picked mainnet and connected a third-party model.
    Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Substitutes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/substitutes. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.

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