Substitute vs Interpolate - What's the difference?
substitute | interpolate |
To use in place of something else, with the same function.
In the phrase "substitute X for Y", to use X in place of Y. With increasing frequency used in the semantically opposite sense (see
In the phrase "substitute X with/by Y", to use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y
(sports) To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.
* {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=April 11
, author=Phil McNulty
, title=Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City
, work=BBC Sport
To serve as a replacement (for someone or something)
* 1987 , , Essays in Economics, Vol. 2 , p. 75
A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.
* De Quincey
(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
(historical) One who enlists for military service in the place of a conscript.
(intransitive) To introduce (something) between other things; especially to insert words into a text.
(mathematics) To estimate the value of a function between two points between which it is tabulated.
(computing) During the course of processing some data, and in response to a directive in that data, to fetch data from a different source and process it in-line along with the original data.
* , Nroff/Troff User's manual
* , 3rd Edition, 2000, p. 992.
As verbs the difference between substitute and interpolate
is that substitute is to use in place of something else, with the same function while interpolate is (intransitive) to introduce (something) between other things; especially to insert words into a text.As a noun substitute
is a replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.substitute
English
Verb
(substitut)- I had no shallots so I substituted onion.
the OED's notes).
- I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.
- I had to substitute old parts with the new ones. (This usage was formerly proscribed.)
- He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes
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. }}
- 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 (seethe 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)- Ladies [in Shakespeare's age] wore masks as the sole substitute known to our ancestors for the modern parasol.
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.}}
Synonyms
* See alsointerpolate
English
(Interpolation)Verb
(interpolat)- in verse 74, the second line is clearly interpolated
- A macro is invoked in the same way as a request; a control line beginning .'''xx'' will '''interpolate the contents of macro ''xx .
- In Perl, variable interpolation' happens in double-quoted strings and patterns, and list '''interpolation occurs when constructing the list of values to pass to a list operator or other such construct that takes a
''LIST.