supersession

S1U1P3E1R1S1E1S1S1I1O1N1
UK/suːpəˈsɛʃ(ə)n/US/supɚˈsɛʃ(ə)n/

noun

The act of superseding; the fact of having been superseded.

RareScrabble 14

Meanings

nounsupersession (countable and uncountable, plural supersessions)

plural supersessions

  1. countableuncountableThe act of superseding; the fact of having been superseded.

    Still excessively abundant, it was dressed in a manner of which the poor lady appeared not yet to have recognised the supersession, with a glossy braid, like a large diadem, on the top of the head […].

    1897 October 16, Henry James, What Maisie Knew, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Herbert S. Stone & Co., →OCLC
    2 more examples

    Two points became perfectly clear: one was that she was thinking of something very different from her present, her past, or her future relations with Hyacinth Robinson; the other was that he was superseded indeed. This was so completely the case that it did not even occur to her, it was evident, that the sense of supersession might be cruel to the young man.

    1886, Henry James, The Princess Casamassima, London: Macmillan and Co.

    In 1923, the first of H. P. M. Beames's massive 0-8-4 tanks appeared in South Wales, for which area they had been mainly designed, and about twenty were usually stationed in the area, being freely used on both passenger and freight duties, until their gradual supersession by ex-L.N.W.R. 0-8-0s began about 1937.

    1957 May 28, D. S. Barrie, “From Abergavenny to Merthyr—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 346

    Synonyms: supersedence, supervention

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe act of superseding; the fact of having been superseded.

More synonyms by meaning

nounact of replacing one person or thing by another especially one held to be superior

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Medieval Latinsupersessiō, supersessiōnem
  2. Englishsupersession

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin supersessiō, supersessiōnem, from supersedeō (“supersede”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

supersession. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supersession

MLA

“supersession.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supersession. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “supersession,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supersession.

Source: supersession on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.