superannuated
Americanadjective
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retired because of age or infirmity.
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too old for use, work, service, or a position.
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antiquated or obsolete.
superannuated ideas.
adjective
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discharged, esp with a pension, owing to age or illness
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too old to serve usefully
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obsolete
Etymology
Origin of superannuated
1625–35; alteration (with -u- of annual ) of Medieval Latin superannātus over a year old (said of cattle), equivalent to super ann ( um ) beyond a year + -ātus -ate 1; see -ed 2
Explanation
If a friend describes your dot matrix printer as superannuated, then you should probably plan a shopping trip for electronics. Your friend has just pointed out that your printer is obsolete. The word superannuated, pronounced "su-per-AN-you-ay-ted," comes from the Medieval Latin word superannuatus, which means “to be too old.” You can use this word to describe things that are obsolete because of age, like a superannuated car you can't fix because replacement parts are no longer made. You also might be tempted to call the word superannuated, well, superannuated, because you don’t hear it used very much anymore.
Vocabulary lists containing superannuated
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The succession law puts a superannuated senator third in line.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Disney may have figured that it had a couple of surefire hits in its pipeline with “The Marvels” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” a sequel in that already superannuated series.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2024
Typically, promising stars are put through a gruelling training schedule as they pass along the conveyor-belt production of new girl and boybands to replace their quickly superannuated colleagues.
From The Guardian • Mar. 22, 2019
But of course, that's one of the reasons I'm a superannuated reporter and not Mueller.
From Washington Post • Jul. 20, 2018
At about one o’clock we came at last to old 64, a lonesome, superannuated two-lane road through the mountains.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
