displacement

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The forcing of people to leave their homes or country, usually because of war, disaster or development.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable: the displacement of thousands of families.

   Patterns

   • displacement of someone
   • displacement from somewhere
   • displacement by something

   The flood caused the displacement of nearly forty thousand villagers.

   Refugee agencies are warning about the mass displacement that the conflict may bring.

   Building the dam meant the displacement of several farming communities.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountable

   The moving of something out of its usual place, or its replacement by something else that takes over its role.

   Grammar: Often followed by of; countable when you mean one particular shift.

   Patterns

   • displacement of something
   • displacement by something

   The X-ray showed a slight displacement of the bone after the fall.

   Economists debate whether automation will lead to displacement of workers or only to changes in their jobs.

   The arrival of cheap plastic caused the gradual displacement of wooden toys.

3. 3nouncountable or uncountablephysicstechnical

   In physics, the straight-line distance and direction between where an object started and where it ended up.

   Grammar: A technical term: unlike distance travelled, it includes direction.

   Patterns

   • displacement of something from something

   After walking around the whole block, her displacement was zero because she ended where she began.

   The graph shows the displacement of the pendulum over time.

4. 4noununcountabletechnical

   The amount of water pushed aside by a floating or sunken object, used as a measure of a ship's weight or an engine's size.

   Grammar: Often a measurement: a ship with a displacement of 20,000 tons.

   Patterns

   • a displacement of something

   The cruiser has a displacement of nearly ten thousand tons.

   Archimedes noticed that the water displacement equalled the volume of the submerged object.

5. 5noununcountabletechnical

   In psychology, the unconscious habit of directing strong feelings toward a safer or more convenient target than the real cause.

   Grammar: Used as a technical idea, as in the phrase displacement activity.

   Patterns

   • displacement of something onto something

   Shouting at the dog after a bad day at work is a classic case of displacement.

   The therapist explained that his anger toward his boss was a displacement of old family frustrations.

Word forms

Common combinations

forced displacement

The report documents forced displacement caused by the civil war.

mass displacement

The earthquake led to mass displacement in the coastal region.

cause displacement

Rising rents can cause displacement of long-term residents.

internal displacement

The charity helps families facing internal displacement within their own country.

water displacement

The boat's water displacement determines how heavy a load it can carry.

displacement activity

Tidying her desk was a displacement activity, a way to avoid starting the essay.

Synonyms and how they differ

uprooting

Uprooting is more emotional and picture-like, stressing that people are pulled away from the place where they belong.

dislocation

Dislocation can mean social disruption or a joint coming out of place, whereas displacement is mostly about being moved or replaced.

replacement

Replacement only says that one thing takes the place of another, without the idea of force or a loss of position.

relocation

Relocation is neutral and often planned, while displacement implies that people had no real choice.

Opposites

Word family

displace verb

to force out of a place or take the place of

displaced adjective

forced to leave home, as in displaced families

misplace verb

to put something in the wrong place and lose it temporarily

placement noun

the putting of something in a particular position

Commonly confused: displacement or replacement?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “displacement”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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