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I am looking for a positive synonym for the word sacrifice. Something that highlights the positive qualities needed to sacrifice the old and go with the new.

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The word sacrifice has four or five meanings as a noun, and a similar number as a verb. Which meaning do you want? –  Peter Taylor Jul 2 '13 at 20:39
I'd say sacrifice is always seen as promising a profitable outcome (a 'meaningless sacrifice' is when one calculates wrongly). 'Self-sacrificial' means one is putting the good of others before one's own (usually temporary) state. –  Edwin Ashworth Jul 2 '13 at 22:14
Could you not just call it Acceptance? It's not really a sacrifice if you'd be better of migrating. –  Carl Smith Jul 7 '13 at 1:30

4 Answers 4

"Trade up" and "modernize", within certain contexts address the concept of replacing old with new but they do not express any pain associated with that exchange. The best word I can think of is your subject word, "sacrifice", used in conjunction with another word or two to make a very clear expression such as:

"Sacrificing familiarity for speed and added functionality"


"Giving up his __ for a newer model was a small price to pay"

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"Creative destruction" is the term in an economical context.

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What about "giving one's life"?

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Based on your explanation, which is subtly different than the title, such a change might be described as



Fresh start

for that sense of "out with the old, in with the new".

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