Meanings
present singular third person displaces · participle present displacing · participle past displaced · past displaced
- To put out of place; to disarrange.
Synonyms: outplace
- To supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute.
- To replace, on account of being superior to or more suitable than that which is being replaced.
Electronic calculators soon displaced the older mechanical kind.
1 more example
All have gone the same way, and since the war have displaced up-to-date steam power on all their principal services by the all-conquering diesel.
1950 January, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 13 - human sciencesTo repress.
Freud considered shyness to be evidence of displaced narcissism.
2017, Megan Garber, “The Case for Shyness”, in The Atlantic
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo put out of place; to disarrange.
More synonyms by meaning
verbterminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position
verbcause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Frenchdesplacer
- Englishdisplace
From Middle French desplacer (French: déplacer).
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian замествам, измествам
- замествам (zamestvam)to supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- измествам (izmestvam)to have a weight equal to that of the water displaced
Catalan desnonar, suplantar
- desnonarto move something or someone
- suplantarto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- desplaçarto have a weight equal to that of the water displaced
- desallotjarto have a weight equal to that of the water displaced
Dutch onthemen
- onthemento move something or someone
Finnish siirtää, pakkosiirtää
- siirtääto move something or someone
- pakkosiirtääto move something or someone
- korvatato supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- syrjäyttääto have a weight equal to that of the water displaced
German umsiedeln, vertreiben
- umsiedelnto move something or someone
- vertreibento move something or someone
- verschiebento move something or someone
- verlagernto move something or someone
- verdrängento supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
Hungarian elmozdít, kimozdít
- elmozdítto move something or someone
- kimozdítto move something or someone
- kiszorítto move something or someone
- (relocate, resettle) kitelepítto move something or someone
- helyettesítto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- behelyettesítto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- felváltto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- helyébe lépto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- átveszi a helyétto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- kiszorítto have a weight equal to that of the water displaced
Italian rimpiazzare, sostituire
- rimpiazzareto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- sostituireto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
Latin luxō
- luxōto move something or someone
Māori pei
- peito move something or someone
Portuguese deslocar
- deslocarto move something or someone
Spanish desahuciar, desplazar
- desahuciarto move something or someone
- desplazarto move something or someone
- desterrarto move something or someone
- desplazarto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- reprimirto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- reemplazarto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- substituirto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- suplantarto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- desbancarto supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
Ukrainian переміщати, перемісти́ти
- переміщати (peremiščaty)to move something or someone
- перемісти́ти (peremistýty)to move something or someone
- витісняти (vytisnjaty)to supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
- заміщати (zamiščaty)to supplant, or take the place of something or someone; to substitute
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with displace
Cite this entry
displace. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/displace
“displace.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/displace. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “displace,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/displace.
Source: displace on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.