supplants

Supplants is the third-person singular present tense of the verb supplant, meaning to take the place of something or someone, often by replacement, outcompeting, or undermining. The noun form “supplant” is not standard in modern usage; nominalized forms such as “the supplanting of X” or “a supplanter” are used instead.

Origin and etymology: The term derives from Latin supplāre, meaning to fill up or replace, and entered English in the late Middle Ages. The sense of replacing an incumbent with a newer or stronger alternative persists in contemporary usage.

Contexts: In politics and business, to supplant a rival means to replace them through advantage, merger, or market leadership. In technology, a new device may supplant an older model once it offers superior performance. In ecology, an introduced species can supplant native species by superior growth or resource use.

Usage and nuance: Supplanting implies a thorough or decisive replacement and often carries a judgment about the legitimacy or impact of the replacement. It can imply rapid change or disruption, and is less neutral than “replace” in some contexts.

Related terms include replace, substitute, displace, usurp; and related forms include supplanting (gerund) and supplanter (noun for one who supplants). See also ecological displacement and market competition.