defunct
Americanadjective
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no longer in effect or use; not operating or functioning.
a defunct law; a defunct organization.
-
no longer in existence; dead; extinct.
a defunct person; a defunct tribe of Indians.
noun
adjective
-
no longer living; dead or extinct
-
no longer operative or valid
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of defunct
1540–50; < Latin dēfunctus discharged, dead (past participle of dēfungī ), equivalent to dē- de- + functus performed; see function
Explanation
Defunct describes something that used to exist, but is now gone. A magazine that no longer publishes, like Sassy, the girl-power mag from the '90s, is defunct, for example. Although defunct comes from the Latin word defunctus meaning "dead," it's not usually used to describe a person who's no longer with us, but rather institutions, projects, companies and political parties — you know, the boring stuff. Keep digging and you'll find that defunctus comes from defungi, meaning, "to finish," which is closer to how it's used today. Defunct can also refer to a rule or law that's no longer used or has become inactive, like prohibition.
Vocabulary lists containing defunct
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Grade 9, List 2
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The Lightning Thief
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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.
SpaceX first leased a rocket engine-testing facility in McGregor, Texas, in 2003, taking over an old test site from the defunct Beal Aerospace.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
"They're the body's garbage collection crew. A lot of that garbage is defunct cells."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
A now defunct duo of robots were supposed to be churning out pizzas at a Moto Pizza restaurant in Seattle.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Pettrie Collins, in an interview this week, called the returned mail provision in her now- defunct bill “the most protective for Californians and the most protective for Californians’ assets and investment accounts.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Piles of fallen stone were dotted about amid the defunct workings.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
