verb
or su·per·cede |süpə(r)|sēd
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle French superseder to refrain from, postpone, from Latin supersedēre to sit above, be superior to, forbear, refrain from, from super- + sedēre to sit — more at sit
transitive verb
1. law
a. : postpone , defer
b. : to fail to proceed with : discontinue
c. obsolete : to refrain from : omit , forbear
d. : to suspend the operation (of a judgment or order) by means of a supersedeas
2. obsolete : to omit mention of
3.
a. : to make obsolete, inferior, or outmoded
the lapse of time has superseded his astronomical system — Benjamin Farrington
b. : to make void : annul , override
established the principle that the welfare of a child superseded judgments rendered by the courts — Current Biography
c. : to make superfluous or unnecessary
this brief account … is intended to supersede the necessity of a long and minute detail — Jane Austen
4. : to take the place of and outmode by superiority : supplant and make inferior by better or more efficiently serving a function
the automobile began to supersede the horse — American Guide Series: Minnesota
the canal never paid … because railroads soon superseded it — Samuel Van Valkenburg & Ellsworth Huntington
5.
a. : to cause to be supplanted in a position or function
in course of time this organization would have to be superseded by another — Shlomo Katz
b. : to succeed to the position, office, or function of : take the place of
the department … superseded the geologic and economic survey — American Guide Series: North Carolina
supersede another as chairman
6. : to follow after in the course of time
as truth prevails over error … goodness tends to supersede badness — Samuel Alexander
7. : to take precedence over
the movement for adjournment supersedes the bill under discussion
intransitive verb
: to defer action : forbear
supersede to name the many other difficulties — F.W.Newman
Synonyms: see replace