displace

[ dis-pleys ]

verb (used with object)

, dis·placed, dis·plac·ing.

1. to compel (a person or persons) to leave home, country, etc.
2. to move or put out of the usual or proper place.

   Synonyms: relocate

3. to take the place of; replace; supplant:

   Fiction displaces fact.

4. to remove from a position, office, or dignity.

   Synonyms: dismiss, oust, depose

5. Obsolete. to rid oneself of.

displace

/ dɪsˈpleɪs /

verb

1. to move from the usual or correct location
2. to remove from office or employment
3. to occupy the place of; replace; supplant
4. to force (someone) to leave home or country, as during a war
5. chem to replace (an atom or group in a chemical compound) by another atom or group
6. physics to cause a displacement of (a quantity of liquid, usually water of a specified type and density)

Derived Forms

• disˈplacer, noun
• disˈplaceable, adjective

Other Words From

• dis·placea·ble adjective
• predis·place verb (used with object) predisplaced predisplacing
• undis·placea·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of displace¹

1545–55; dis- ¹ + place, perhaps modeled on Middle French desplacer

Synonym Study

Displace, misplace mean to put something in a different place from where it should be. To displace often means to shift something solid and comparatively immovable, more or less permanently from its place: The flood displaced houses from their foundations. To misplace is to put an object in a wrong place so that it is difficult to find: Papers belonging in the safe were misplaced and temporarily lost.

Example Sentences

Israeli attacks have displaced more than one million people, putting more pressure on a country that was already struggling to cope after years of a severe economic crisis.

From BBC

Imani mentioned that his organization is also focused on serving war-displaced people impacted by the disease, another complexity best addressed by local human rights organizations that are already serving displaced and traumatized populations.

From Salon

The idea is that these clean sources should start to displace dirty fossil fuels in the electric power grid, therefore reducing CO2 emissions even as electricity demand grows.

From BBC

Israel’s stated goal in its war against Hezbollah is to allow the return of about 60,000 residents who have been displaced from communities in the country’s north because of Hezbollah’s rocket fire.

From BBC

Israel's ground offensive in northern Gaza has displaced up to 130,000 people over the past five weeks.

From BBC

Related Words

• disturb
• evict
• expel
• force out
• lose
• uproot