substitute

nouns

a person or thing that takes or can take the place of another

replacement, substitute

an athlete who plays only when a starter on the team is replaced

reserve, second-stringer, substitute

someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)

"the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes"; "we need extra employees for summer fill-ins"

backup, backup man, fill-in, relief, reliever, stand-in, substitute

verbs

put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items

"the con artist replaced the original with a fake Rembrandt"; "substitute regular milk with fat-free milk"; "synonyms can be interchanged without a changing the context's meaning"

exchange, interchange, replace, substitute

is derived from

substitution

is derived from

substitution

be a substitute

"The young teacher had to substitute for the sick colleague"; "The skim milk substitutes for cream--we are on a strict diet"

fill in, stand in, sub, substitute

is derived from

substitution

is derived from

substituting

act as a substitute

"She stood in for the soprano who suffered from a cold"

deputise, deputize, step in, substitute

is derived from

substituting

adjectives

capable of substituting in any of several positions on a team

"a utility infielder"

substitute, utility

serving or used in place of another

"an alternative plan"

alternate, alternative, substitute

artificial and inferior

"ersatz coffee"; "substitute coffee"

ersatz, substitute