passe

¹ American  

[pahs] / pɑs /

noun

French.

1. the numbers 19 through 36 in roulette.

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passé ² American  

[pa-sey, pah-sey] / pæˈseɪ, pɑˈseɪ /

adjective

1. no longer fashionable, in wide use, etc.; out-of-date; outmoded.

   There were many photographs of passé fashions. I thought hand-cranked pencil sharpeners were passé.

   Synonyms:

   quaint, démodé, old-fashioned

2. past.

   time passé.

3. past the prime of one's life.

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noun

plural

passés

1. Ballet. a movement in which one leg passes behind or in front of the other.

passé British  

/ ˈpɑseɪ, pɑse, ˈpɑːseɪ /

adjective

1. out-of-date

   passé ideas

2. past the prime; faded

   a passé society beauty

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Etymology

Origin of passe¹

Literally, “passing, pass”

Origin of passé¹

1765–75; < French, past participle of passer to pass

Example Sentences

The arm positions for Mr. Louis and Ms. Chapa passingly resemble archers’ bows or crescent moons.

From The Wall Street Journal

It appears that investors only have passingly paid attention to my letters, and many have been clinging to various rumors and hearsay in place of analysis or original thought.

From Literature

But these days, many of the traditional Olympic sports are beginning to feel passe to a younger generation.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a snappy, gutsy comedy about how kids are spoiled and ignorant, and yet the adult workplace is only passingly more mature.

From New York Times

This felt, he reported, “like hanging horizontally on belts, as if in a suspended state,” a circumstance passingly familiar to anyone who has been on a roller coaster or jumped off a diving board.

From New York Times

Related Words

• corny
• obsolete
• odd
• outdated
• outmoded
• unfashionable