Meanings
plural supersessions
- countableuncountableThe act of superseding; the fact of having been superseded.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., →OCLC2 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very different from her present, her past, or her future relations with Hyacinth Robinson; the other was that he was superseded indeed.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 346Synonyms: 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nounThe act of superseding; the fact of having been superseded.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
- Medieval Latinsupersessiō, supersessiōnem
- Englishsupersession
Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin supersessiō, supersessiōnem, from supersedeō (“supersede”).
More words from Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
supersession. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supersession
“supersession.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supersession. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “supersession,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/supersession.
Source: supersession on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.