Vicarious vs Substitute - What's the difference?
vicarious | substitute |
Experienced or gained by the loss or to the consequence of another, such as through watching or reading.
Done on behalf of others
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.
As an adjective vicarious
is experienced or gained by the loss or to the consequence of another, such as through watching or reading.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.vicarious
English
Adjective
(-)- People experience vicarious pleasures through watching television.
- The concept of vicarious atonement, that one person can atone for the sins of another, is found in many religions.
Quotations
{{timeline, 1800s=1886, 1900s=1900 1920}} * 1886 — ch 10 *: The pleasures which I made haste to seek in my disguise were, as I have said, undignified; I would scarce use a harder term. But in the hands of Edward Hyde, they soon began to turn toward the monstrous. When I would come back from these excursions, I was often plunged into a kind of wonder at my vicarious depravity. * 1900 — ch 26 *: As time went on, the cruel custom was so far mitigated that a ram was accepted as a vicarious sacrifice in room of the royal victim. * 1920 — ch III *: In these, however, he had not much time to indulge, for a footman, still decked in the trappings of vicarious grief, opened the door with the most startling promptitude, and he was ushered upstairs into a small but richly furnished room.Derived terms
* vicarious atonement * vicarious learning * vicarious liability * vicarious reinforcementsubstitute
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.}}
