different between substitute vs substitutable

English

Etymology

From Middle English substituten, from Latin substitutus, past participle of substitu?.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?s?bst?t?u?t/, /?s?bst?tju?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?s?bst?tut/, /?s?bst?tjut/
• Hyphenation: sub?sti?tute
• Rhymes: -u?t

Verb

substitute (third-person singular simple present substitutes, present participle substituting, simple past and past participle substituted)

1. (transitive) To use in place of something else, with the same function.

   I had no shallots so I substituted onion.

2. (transitive, in the phrase "substitute X for Y") To use X in place of Y.

   I had to substitute new parts for the old ones.

3. (transitive, formerly proscribed, in the phrase "substitute X with/by Y") To use Y in place of X; to replace X with Y.

   I had to substitute old parts with the new ones.

4. (transitive, sports) To remove (a player) from the field of play and bring on another in his place.

   He was playing poorly and was substituted after twenty minutes
5. (intransitive) To serve as a replacement (for someone or something).
   • 1987, James Tobin, Essays in Economics, Vol. 2, p. 75

     Accumulation of wealth by this route may substitute for personal saving.

Usage notes

The verb "to substitute" can be used transitively in two opposite ways. "To substitute X" may mean either "use X in place of something else" (as in definitions 1 and 2), or "use something else in place of X" (as in definitions 3 and 4). The latter use is more recent, but it is widespread and now generally accepted (see the COED's note on the matter). However, if the indirect object (the "something else") is omitted, the preposition is also omitted, and the reader or hearer cannot tell which sense is meant:

• "Substitute butter for olive oil" = Use butter instead of olive oil
• "Substitute butter with olive oil" = Use olive oil instead of butter
• "Substitute butter" = ???

Synonyms

• (to replace X with Y): exchange, swap; See also Thesaurus:switch

Translations

Noun

substitute (plural substitutes)

1. A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or purpose.

   Synonyms: surrogate; see also Thesaurus:substitute

   • 1840, Thomas De Quincey, Theory of Greek Tragedy (published in Blackwood's Magazine)

     Ladies [in Shakespeare's age] […] wore masks as the sole substitute known to our ancestors for the modern parasol.
2. (sports) A player who is available to replace another if the need arises, and who may or may not actually do so.
3. (historical) One who enlists for military service in the place of a conscript.
4. (economics) Abbreviation of substitute good.

Translations

Latin

Participle

substit?te

1. vocative masculine singular of substit?tus

English

Etymology

substitute +? -able

Adjective

substitutable (comparative more substitutable, superlative most substitutable)

1. Capable of being used as a substitute; valid as a replacement or alternate item.

   Stevia is not substitutable for sugar in baking: the recipes won't work; they taste terrible.

2. Capable of being substituted.

Antonyms

• nonsubstitutable
• unsubstitutable

Translations

Noun

substitutable (plural substitutables)

1. Something that can be substituted for something else; a viable replacement.