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Compromise vs Substitute - What's the difference?

compromise | substitute |

In lang=en terms the difference between compromise and substitute

is that compromise is to breach (a security system) while substitute is to serve as a replacement (for someone or something).

As nouns the difference between compromise and substitute

is that compromise is the settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions while substitute is a replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.

As verbs the difference between compromise and substitute

is that compromise is (ambitransitive) to bind by mutual agreement while substitute is to use in place of something else, with the same function.

compromise

Noun

(en noun)
  • The settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions.
  • * Shakespeare
  • But basely yielded upon compromise / That which his noble ancestors achieved with blows.
  • * Burke
  • All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter.
  • * Hallam
  • An abhorrence of concession and compromise is a never failing characteristic of religious factions.
  • A committal to something derogatory or objectionable; a prejudicial concession; a surrender.
  • a compromise of character or right
  • * Lamb
  • I was determined not to accept any fine speeches, to the compromise of that sex the belonging to which was, after all, my strongest claim and title to them.

    Verb

    (compromis)
  • (ambitransitive) To bind by mutual agreement.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Laban and himself were compromised / That all the eanlings which were streaked and pied / Should fall as Jacob's hire.
  • To adjust and settle by mutual concessions; to compound.
  • * Fuller
  • The controversy may easily be compromised .
  • To find a way between extremes.
  • To pledge by some act or declaration; to endanger the life, reputation, etc., of, by some act which can not be recalled; to expose to suspicion.
  • * Motley
  • To pardon all who had been compromised in the late disturbances.
  • To cause impairment of.
  • To breach (a security system).
  • He tried to compromise the security in the computer by guessing the password.

    Derived terms

    * compromising (adjective )

    substitute

    English

    Verb

    (substitut)
  • To use in place of something else, with the same function.
  • I had no shallots so I substituted onion.
  • In the phrase "substitute X for Y", to use X in place of Y. With increasing frequency used in the semantically opposite sense (see the OED's notes).
  • I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.
  • In the phrase "substitute X with/by Y", to use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y
  • I had to substitute old parts with the new ones. (This usage was formerly proscribed.)
  • (sports) To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.
  • He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=April 11 , author=Phil McNulty , title=Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Mario Balotelli replaced Tevez but his contribution was so negligible that he suffered the indignity of being substituted himself as time ran out, a development that encapsulated a wretched 90 minutes for City and boss Roberto Mancini. }}
  • To serve as a replacement (for someone or something)
  • * 1987 , , Essays in Economics, Vol. 2 , p. 75
  • Accumulation of wealth by this route may substitute for personal saving.

    Usage notes

    The verb "to substitute" can be used transitively in two opposite ways. "To substitute X" may mean either "use X in place of something else" (as in definitions 1 and 2), or "use something else in place of X" (as in definitions 3 and 4). The latter use is more recent, but it is widespread and now generally accepted (see the COED's note on the matter). However, if the indirect object (the "something else") is omitted, the preposition is also omitted, and the reader or hearer cannot tell which sense is meant: * "Substitute butter for olive oil" = Use butter instead of olive oil * "Substitute olive oil for butter" = Use olive oil instead of butter * "Substitute butter" = ??? * "Substitute olive oil" = ???

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.
  • * De Quincey
  • Ladies [in Shakespeare's age] wore masks as the sole substitute known to our ancestors for the modern parasol.
  • (sports) A player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=David Ornstein , title=Macc Tel-Aviv 1 - 2 Stoke , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Dean Whitehead opened the scoring shortly after the break with a low finish and substitute Peter Crouch sealed the win with a tap-in.}}
  • (historical) One who enlists for military service in the place of a conscript.
  • Synonyms

    * See also