Standard Lemma guide

ersatz

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɛəzæts/
  • /ˈɜːsæts/
  • US: /ˈɛəɹsɑts/
  • /ˈɛəɹzɑts/
  • /ɛəɹˈsɑːts/
  • /ɛəɹˈzɑːts/
  • /ˈɝsæts/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with (US) -ɑːts
  • CMU ARPABET: EH1 R S AA2 T S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: EH1 R Z AA2 T S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

An inauthentic or inadequate substitute or imitation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Back then, we could only get ersatz coffee.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fake, faux, imitation, inauthentic, knockoff, rip-off, gingerbread

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Something made in imitation; an effigy or substitute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: imitation, knock off

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

artificial and inferior

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • ersatz coffee
  • substitute coffee

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: substitute

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

an artificial or inferior substitute or imitation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: substitute, replacement

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ud-s-? Proto-Indo-European *h2u-s-? Proto-Germanic *uz- Proto-West Germanic *uʀ- Proto-Indo-European *sed- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti Proto-Germanic *satjaną Proto-West Germanic *sattjan Proto-West Germanic *uʀsattjan Old High German irsezzen Middle High German ersetzen German ersetzenbf. German Ersatzbor. English ersatz Borrowed from German Ersatz (“replacement, substitute”), a back-formation from ersetzen (“to replace, to substitute”).

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: succedani — imitation
  • Catalan: imitació — imitation
  • Catalan: còpia — imitation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 代用品 (dàiyòngpǐn) — imitation
  • Czech: náhražka — imitation
  • Dutch: ersatz — imitation
  • Dutch: surrogaat — imitation
  • Finnish: korvike — imitation
  • French: ersatz — imitation
  • Galician: sucedáneo — imitation
  • German: Ersatz — imitation
  • Greek: υποκατάστατο (ypokatástato) — imitation
  • Irish: tacair — imitation
  • Japanese: 代用品 (daiyōhin) — imitation
  • Norwegian Bokmål: erstatning — imitation
  • Polish: erzac — imitation
  • Portuguese: imitação — imitation
  • Portuguese: cópia — imitation
  • Russian: суррога́т (surrogát) — imitation
  • Russian: замени́тель (zamenítelʹ) — imitation
  • Russian: эрза́ц (erzác) — imitation
  • Spanish: remedo — imitation
  • Swedish: ersättning — imitation
  • Tagalog: peke — imitation
  • Ukrainian: ерза́ц (erzác) — imitation
  • Ukrainian: сурога́т (surohát) — imitation
  • Ukrainian: замі́нник (zamínnyk) — imitation