Change
Change verb - To give up (something) and take something else in return.
Usage example: would you mind changing your seat so my friends can sit together?
Replace is a synonym for change in exchange topic. In some cases you can use "Replace" instead a verb "Change", when it comes to topics like swap, make or become different. popular alternative
Replace
Replace verb - Put in the place of another; switch seemingly equivalent items.
Usage example: the con artist replaced the original with a fake Rembrandt
Change is a synonym for replace in substitute topic. You can use "Change" instead a verb "Replace", if it concerns topics such as activity, put in place of. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Hence the popular UK SF scene Light Bulb Joke: "How many Fanthorpe pseudonyms does it take to change a lightbulb, to replace it, to reinstate it, to substitute for it, to swap it, to exchange it, to renew it, to put another in its stead, to ..."
Source: Redundancy / Literature - Countries change names regularly for various reasons, often because of a revolution, the redrawing of borders or the use of an endonym to replace an exonym.
Source: Sudden Name Change - You can replace Mario's sprite, change what fireballs look like, and give it a total makeover.
Source: Game Engine
Cite this Source
Replace and Change. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/change/replace
Change & Replace. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/change/replace>.
Replace or Change. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/change/replace.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "change" and "replace" have occurred on timeline