1. made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else
Usage: often implies poor quality or inauthenticity

Examples

• During the war, people drank ersatz coffee made from roasted grains.
• The restaurant served ersatz leather chairs instead of genuine leather.
• He complained that the ersatz butter tasted nothing like real butter.
• The company tried to pass off ersatz diamonds as genuine gemstones.
• Many ersatz products flooded the market when the real item became scarce.
• She preferred authentic Italian pasta to ersatz versions made with cheap ingredients.