Anstelle

Anstelle is a German preposition meaning in place of or instead of. It is relatively formal or literary and is most commonly found in written or official contexts, such as legal, administrative, or formal prose. In everyday speech, the more common alternatives are statt or anstatt.

As a preposition, anstelle typically governs a genitive noun or pronoun, most often forming phrases such as anstelle des … (in place of the …). The construction can sometimes appear with an occasional “von” form in less formal usage, as in anstelle von ihm or anstelle von ihnen, though this is less standard in highly formal writing.

Etymologically, anstelle derives from older Germanic usage meaning “in the position of.” It is closely related to other equivalents in German that express substitution, and it is considered more elevated or bureaucratic than casual synonyms. While still correct, its use tends to convey formality, authority, or solemn tone.

Usage notes and synonyms: An alternative with similar meaning is statt (and the variant anstatt), which are more common in speech and modern prose. Anstelle emphasizes deliberate substitution or replacement, while statt can be more neutral and versatile. In English translations, anstelle is typically rendered as in place of or instead of.

Examples:

- Anstelle des Direktors leitete der Stellvertreter die Sitzung.

- Anstelle des vorgesehenen Termins wurde der Termin verschoben.

- In place of the manager, the deputy led the meeting; in formal German, anstelle des Direktors wird der Stellvertreter die Sitzung führen.

See also: statt, anstatt, statt/anstatt usage in legal and administrative language.