successor
/səkˈsesə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /səkˈsesər/ (ame, ipa) · /sək-ˈse-sər/ (ame, mw)
successor — noun
1. A person who is chosen to take over an official role, job, or position after the
A person who is chosen to take over an official role, job, or position after the previous person has left. The word can also describe a product, machine, or system that replaces an earlier version.
The board of directors named Soraya as Chen's successor after her thirty years as CEO.
passive: 'named [person] as [possessive] successor'
When the museum director retired, her successor brought a fresh approach to the exhibitions.
preposition: 'successor + pronoun + verb' describing transition
The new tablet model is a worthy successor to the bestselling design from two years ago.
Tomás was surprised to learn he would be the dean's chosen successor.
Historians still debate whether the successor truly carried out the founder's original vision.
- heir
limited to inheriting a title, property, or family role; less common for appointed jobs
- replacement
more neutral and can be temporary; does not imply an official or planned handover
- inheritor
focuses on receiving a legacy or tradition, not necessarily a formal position
- substitute
often short-term or acting; not the permanent next person in line
- predecessor
the person who held the position before the current office-holder
- forerunner
earlier person or thing that paved the way; less formal than 'predecessor'
文法句型
[possessive] successor
successor to [position/person]
用法筆記
Commonly paired with a possessive (his/her/their successor) or the preposition 'to' (successor to the throne). When referring to things, the adjective 'worthy' is a frequent modifier (a worthy successor).