an apartment complex designed as an ersatz Mediterranean villa like everything else the restaurant served, the whipped cream on the dessert was ersatz

Recent Examples on the Web

These ersatz plebiscites have long been perfunctory functions which typically end in Lukashenko gaining yet another term in office, the better to continue smothering the independent press, peaceful protesters, and opposition figures alike. Casey Michel, The New Republic, "Alexander Lukashenko’s Belarusian Dictatorship Is Going Down in Flames," 10 Aug. 2020

Will his name even be mentioned at its ersatz convention? Keith C. Burris, Star Tribune, "Conventions aren't what they used to be. Neither are parties.," 14 Aug. 2020

Walmart is not the only company turning its parking lots into ersatz cinemas. Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, "Drive-In Movies Coming to Walmart Later This Summer," 6 July 2020

With the agreement of the Icelandic government, U.S. authorities created fake classified documents for Sabu to feed Assange, including an ersatz map purporting to show the computer network topology of the government. Washington Post, "Justice Department broadens case against Julian Assange," 25 June 2020

Ten miles southwest of the Denver airport, Izidor is living in an ersatz Romanian cottage. Melissa Fay Greene, The Atlantic, "Can an Unloved Child Learn to Love?," 18 June 2020

On top of the millions of real-world miles logged by its cars, Waymo claims to have generated well over a billion miles-worth of data using ersatz driving in virtual environments. The Economist, "Automobiles Driverless cars show the limits of today’s AI," 13 June 2020

As a result, the consequences of America’s subsequent affinity for war, whether real or ersatz, take a backseat to gearing up for the next go-round. Andrew J. Bacevich, The New Republic, "Will 2020 Finally Kill America’s War Fetish?," 9 June 2020

The shoes remind me of how certain ersatz practices can seem perfectly normal until the march of history exposes them as absurd. New York Times, "A Bank President Bridges Cultures in Downtown Los Angeles," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ersatz.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.