Definition

1. Verb:
   • To cause something or someone to move from its usual or proper place: This is the core meaning, involving physical relocation, often with a sense of force or compulsion.
   • To remove someone from a job or position of authority: To discharge, dismiss, or force someone out of a role.
   • To take the place of something; to supplant: To replace something, often causing the original thing to be removed or become obsolete.

Usage and Examples

• Physical Movement/Relocation:
  • The earthquake displaced several large boulders. (The earthquake caused the boulders to move from their original positions.)
  • The new dam project will displace thousands of villagers. (The project will force the villagers to leave their homes.)
• Removal from a Position:
  • The CEO was displaced by the board of directors. (The board removed the CEO from his position.)
  • New technology often displaces workers with outdated skills. (The technology replaces workers, forcing them out of their jobs.)
• Taking the Place of Something:
  • Streaming services have largely displaced traditional cable TV. (Streaming services have taken the place of cable TV.)
  • In many ecosystems, invasive species displace native ones. (The invasive species supplant the native species.)

Advanced Usage

• "Displaced person": A specific term for someone forced to flee their home, especially due to war, persecution, or disaster, but who has not crossed an international border (cf. "refugee").
  • The camp provides shelter for displaced persons from the conflict zone.
• In Physics/Engineering: To indicate the volume or weight of a fluid pushed aside by an object.
  • A ship displaces an amount of water equal to its own weight.

Variants and Related Words

• Displacement (noun):
  • The act of displacing or the state of being displaced.
  • The war caused the mass displacement of civilians.
  • In physics, it refers to the vector quantity representing change in position.
• Displaceable (adjective): Capable of being displaced.

Synonyms

• Move, shift, relocate (for physical movement).
• Remove, oust, dismiss, fire (for removal from a position).
• Replace, supplant, supersede (for taking the place of something).

Antonyms

• Place, position, install (for the act of putting something somewhere).
• Hire, appoint, retain (for keeping or giving a position).
• Preserve, maintain (for keeping something in its original state or place).

Related Phrases and Contexts

• "Displaced aggression": A psychological term for redirecting anger or hostility from its original source to a safer or more available target.
  • After being criticized by his boss, he showed displaced aggression by yelling at his colleague.
• In a social/political context: Often used to describe populations forced to move due to conflict, development, or environmental factors.
  • Climate change is expected to displace millions of people in coastal regions.

Verb

1. cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense
   • Move those boxes into the corner, please
   • I'm moving my money to another bank
   • The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant
2. terminate the employment of; discharge from an office or position
   • The boss fired his secretary today
   • The company terminated 25% of its workers
3. take the place of or have precedence over
   • live broadcast of the presidential debate preempts the regular news hour
   • discussion of the emergency situation will preempt the lecture by the professor
4. cause to move, usually with force or pressure
   • the refugees were displaced by the war