defunct
Americanadjective
-
no longer in effect or use; not operating or functioning.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.
The SOS Coalition apparently is defunct; its website address now leads to an online gambling portal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
"They're the body's garbage collection crew. A lot of that garbage is defunct cells."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
"The backlog of defunct white goods is getting bigger by the day – they're at risk of becoming a mountain," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
The space junk includes defunct man-made objects like rocket bodies, dead satellites and fragments from launches, explosions and collisions that threaten to re-enter Earth's atmosphere or crash into functioning satellites.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
The sea fisheries w ere defunct several years ago; the few fish they have now are from fish farms, and taste muddy.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
