surrogate
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
A person or animal that acts as a substitute for the social or pastoral role of another, such as a surrogate parent.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suruhguhtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɝəɡət
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A person or animal that acts as a substitute for the social or pastoral role of another, such as a surrogate parent.
A substitute (usually of a person, position or role).
chiefly british
A deputy for a bishop in granting licences for marriage.
adjective
Of, concerning, relating to or acting as a substitute.
verb
transitive
To replace or substitute something with something else; to appoint a successor.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A woman who bears a child for a couple where the wife is unable to do so.
A man who takes over all the functions of the real father.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: person
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.