Meanings
plural surrogates
- A substitute (usually of a person, position or role).
A mixture of horseradish and mustard often serves as a surrogate for wasabi.
Synonyms: fill-in, ghost, proxy, replacement, stand-in, substitute
- A person or animal that acts as a substitute for the social or pastoral role of another, such as a surrogate parent.
- USgovernmentA politician or person of influence campaigning for a presidential candidate.
- USlawA judicial officer of limited jurisdiction, who administers matters of probate and intestate succession and, in some cases, adoptions.
- economicsAn ersatz good.
- abbreviationellipsiscomputingEllipsis of surrogate key.
comparative more surrogate · superlative most surrogate
- Of, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute.
present singular third person surrogates · participle present surrogating · participle past surrogated · past surrogated
- transitiveTo replace or substitute something with something else; to appoint a successor.
Synonyms: deputize, foster, replace, subrogate, substitute
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA substitute (usually of a person, position or role).
verbTo replace or substitute something with something else; to appoint a successor.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveproviding or receiving nurture or parental care though not related by blood or legal ties
nounsomeone who takes the place of another person
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinsurrogātus
- Englishsurrogate
From Latin surrogātus, perfect passive participle of surrogō (“to choose someone as a substitute”); a variant of subrogō, from sub (“under”) + rogō (“ask”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian заместител, сурогат
- заместител (zamestitel)substitute
- сурогат (surogat)substitute
- заместник (zamestnik)person or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- заместващ (zamestvašt)Of, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute
- сурогатен (surogaten)Of, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute
- замествам (zamestvam)to replace or substitute something with something else
Catalan suplent, substitut
- suplentsubstitute
- substitutsubstitute
Chinese Mandarin 替代品, 替代者
- 替代品 (tìdàipǐn)substitute
- 替代者 (tìdàizhě)person or animal that acts as a substitute for another
Danish substitut, surrogat
- substitutsubstitute
- surrogatsubstitute
Dutch vervanger, plaatsvervanger
- vervangersubstitute
- plaatsvervangersubstitute
- surrogaatsubstitute
Finnish sijainen, korvike
- sijainenperson or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- korvikeperson or animal that acts as a substitute for another
French remplaçant, remplaçante
- remplaçantsubstitute
- remplaçantesubstitute
- suppléantsubstitute
- suppléantesubstitute
- substitutsubstitute
- substitutesubstitute
- ersatzsubstitute
- substitutperson or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- personne de substitutionperson or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- succédanéOf, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute
- succédanéeOf, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute
German Ersatz-, Stellvertreter
- Ersatz-substitute
- Stellvertretersubstitute
- Stellvertreterinsubstitute
- Ersatzperson or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- Substitutperson or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- Surrogatsurrogate key
- Surrogatschlüsselsurrogate key
Greek αναπληρωματικός
- αναπληρωματικός (anapliromatikós)Of, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute
Hungarian helyettesítő, pótlék
- helyettesítősubstitute
- pótléksubstitute
- pótszersubstitute
- helyettessubstitute
- pót-person or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- dajka-person or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- bér-person or animal that acts as a substitute for another
Italian surrogato
- surrogatosubstitute
Māori kōpū whāngai
- kōpū whāngaiperson or animal that acts as a substitute for another
Persian جایگزین
- جایگزین (jây-gozin)substitute
Polish surogat, erzac
- surogatsubstitute
- erzacsubstitute
- surogatowyOf, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute
- zastępczyOf, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute
- zastępowaćto replace or substitute something with something else
- zastąpićto replace or substitute something with something else
Portuguese substituto
- substitutosubstitute
Russian суррога́т, замести́тель
- суррога́т (surrogát)substitute
- замести́тель (zamestítelʹ)person or animal that acts as a substitute for another
- замести́тельница (zamestítelʹnica)person or animal that acts as a substitute for another
Spanish sustituto, substituto
- sustitutosubstitute
- substitutosubstitute
- subrogantesubstitute
- subrogarto replace or substitute something with something else
Turkish vekil, yedek
- vekilsubstitute
- yedeksubstitute
Cite this entry
surrogate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surrogate
“surrogate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surrogate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “surrogate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surrogate.
Source: surrogate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.