obsolete
Americanadjective
-
no longer in general use; fallen into disuse.
an obsolete expression.
-
of a discarded or outmoded type; out of date.
an obsolete battleship.
- Synonyms:
- old, ancient, antiquated
-
(of a linguistic form) no longer in use, especially, out of use for at least the past century.
-
effaced by wearing down or away.
-
Biology. imperfectly developed or rudimentary in comparison with the corresponding character in other individuals, as of a different sex or of a related species.
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
out of use or practice; not current
-
out of date; unfashionable or outmoded
-
biology (of parts, organs, etc) vestigial; rudimentary
Usage
Terms and definitions labeled Obsolete in this dictionary have not been in widespread use since the mid 1700s. Unlike some relatively familiar archaic words and phrases, like prithee and thou art, obsolete words and phrases are not easily understood by a modern reader, and obsolete senses of current terms, as found in definitions 13, 14, and 15 of nice, are even more difficult for a contemporary reader to recognize.
The word obsoleteness is hardly ever used, obsolescence standing as the noun form for both obsolete and obsolescent
Other Word Forms
- nonobsolete adjective
- obsoletely adverb
- obsoleteness noun
- subobsolete adjective
- subobsoletely adverb
- subobsoleteness noun
- unobsolete adjective
Etymology
Origin of obsolete
First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin obsolētus, past participle of obsolēscere “to fall into disuse,” perhaps equivalent to ob- ob- + sol(ēre) “to be accustomed to” + -ēscere -esce
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.
And the pessimists fear entry-level knowledge workers will become obsolete altogether.
After software stocks fell on fears that AI would render those firms’ offerings obsolete, the tornado swept through other supposedly vulnerable sectors, notably financial services, commercial real estate, trucking, and logistics.
From Barron's
After software stocks fell on fears that AI would render those firms’ offerings obsolete, the tornado swept through other supposedly vulnerable sectors, notably financial services, commercial real estate, trucking, and logistics.
From Barron's
After software stocks fell on fears that AI would render those firms’ offerings obsolete, the tornado swept through other supposedly vulnerable sectors, notably financial services, commercial real estate, trucking, and logistics.
From Barron's
In areas like enterprise software and insurance, investors are attempting to understand which businesses the new technology might render obsolete.
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.
