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Glite Dictionary
supplanter

supplanter

1 9.9
A person who replaces someone by unfair or illegal means
  • noun
  • /səˈplæntər/
: usurpador
  • This Jacob is the true supplanter of vices, also called Israel, namely, a man who sees God.

Examples

  • There would be no reason for you to love the social creature that killed and replaced it; it would be more natural to mourn your country and hate its supplanter.

    Blog text (8)

  • Medieval exegetes commonly understood Jacob's biblical epithet, "supplanter," to signify his role in supplanting the devil, Esau.

    Academic text (2006)

  • He arrives as a supplanter to replace stale wisdom with fresh, and begins by rebuking Job's haranguers for their dogma of mechanical tit for tat.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The ambitious executive was seen as a supplanter, eager to take over her boss's position.

  • As a supplanter, he undermined his colleagues to climb the corporate ladder.

  • The revolutionary leader was viewed by many as a supplanter, who aimed to replace the old regime.

Synonyms

usurper
vssupplanter
10 8.6

A person who takes power illegally, often by force

wrongfully replaces another in any role not only positions of authority

How Legitimate

successor
132 3.7
replacement
342 2.0
supplanter
1 9.9
usurper
10 8.6

Surface Forms

supplanter singular
supplanters plural

Morphology

supplanter = supplant (transparent) = supplant + er

This is a regular agent noun formed from the verb 'supplant' with '-er', so the meaning is straightforwardly recoverable.

Etymology

Supplanter comes from the Latin verb supplantare, built from sup- 'under' and planta 'sole of the foot'. At first it meant to 'trip up' someone by putting a foot under them, so a supplanter is a person who wrongfully 'takes the place' of another.