(a.) Synthetic; artificial; substitute; replacement; as, an ersatz sweetener instead of sugar\

affected agent alike alternate alternative analogy aped apocryphal artificial assumed backup bastard bogus brummagem change changeling colorable colored comparison consimilar copied copy counterfeit counterfeited deputy distorted double dressed up dummy embellished embroidered equal equivalent exchange factitious fake faked FALSE falsified favoring feigned fictitious fictive fill-in following forged garbled ghost ghostwriter hokey homogeneous identical illegitimate imitated imitation junky like locum tenens make-believe makeshift man-made metaphor metonymy mimicked mock nearly reproduced next best thing not unlike personnel perverted phony pinch pinch hitter pinchbeck plagiarized pretended provisional proxy pseudo put-on quasi queer relief replacement representative resembling reserve reserves ringer second string secondary self-styled sham shoddy sign similar simulacrum simulated smacking of so-called soi-disant something like spare spares spurious stand-in stopgap sub substituent substitute substitution succedaneum suggestive of superseder supplanter supposititious surrogate symbol synecdoche synthetic temporary tentative third string tin tinsel titivated token twisted unauthentic understudy ungenuine uniform with unnatural unreal utility utility player vicar vicarious vice-president vice-regent warped