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Substitute vs Interchangeable - What's the difference?

substitute | interchangeable |

As a verb substitute

is to use in place of something else, with the same function.

As a noun substitute

is a replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.

As an adjective interchangeable is

freely substitutable may be swapped at will.

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

    interchangeable

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • Freely substitutable. May be swapped at will.
    • Eli Whitney's development of interchangeable parts was a breakthrough for modern manufacturing. Prior to that each part had to be made custom.
  • * 2014 , Ian Jack, " Is this the end of Britishness", The Guardian , 16 September 2014:
    • The English, until relatively recently, seem to have imagined “English” and “British” to be interchangeable , as if Britain was just a bigger England.

    Derived terms

    * interchangeably