defunct
/dɪˈfʌŋkt/US/ˌdiˈfʌŋkt/
defunct adjective: no longer in use or active, nor expected to be again.
Adjective
defunct (comparative more defunct, superlative most defunct)
- No longer in use or active, nor expected to be again.
- [T]he engineer must solve the mysteries of boiler accidents by studying defunct structures of many different types.1880 January 1, The Locomotive, volume 1, number 1, Hartford, Conn.: The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection And Insurance Company, page 9
- Synonyms:
- antiquated, disused, outdated, anachronistic, antediluvial, antediluvian, antique, archaic, backward, backwards
- Specifically, of a process: having terminated but not having been reaped (by its parent or an inheritor), and thus still occupying a process slot. See also zombie, zombie process.
- (of a language) No longer spoken.
- When a language dies members of the culture of which that language was once a part may attempt to hold on to their linguistic heritage, if not by the use of the defunct language itself, at least by the preservation of its script.2007, J. N. Adams, “The Republic: inscriptions”, in The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600, Cambridge University Press, page 105
- Deceased, dead.
- The organs, though defunct and dead before, / Break up their drowsy grave and newly move1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
- Morgante at a venture shot an arrow, / Which pierced a pig precisely in the ear, / And passed unto the other side quite through; / So that the boar, defunct, lay tripped up near.1820 February (date written; published 30 July 1823), Luigi Pulci, “The Morgante Maggiore of Pulci”, in Lord Byron, transl., The Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron […], New York, N.Y.: The...
Verb
defunct (third-person singular simple present defuncts, present participle defuncting, simple past and past participle defuncted)
- To make defunct.
Noun
defunct
- The dead person (referred to).
- A small tablet is fixt near the Altar, upon wᶜʰ the friends of yᵉ defunct lay their offerings in mony according to their own ability and the quality of the person deceased.1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 23
- […] he saw Robert Johnston, pannel, come out of the cott-house with the fork in his hand, and pass by Alexander Fall and the deponent; heard the pannell say, he had sticked the dog, and he would stick the whelps too; whereupon the pannell run after the defunct’s son with the fork in his hand, […]1817 September, in Blackwood's Edinburgh magazine, volume 1, page 617
defunct meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
defunct in Hindi
- defunct
- रफ़्ता raftā
defunct in Tamil
- இறந்த, கழிந்த, செயலற்ற, செயலற்றுப்போன, வழக்கற்றுப் போன
defunct in Urdu
- defunct
- رفتہ rafta
defunct in Bengali
- অবলুপ্ত, মৃত
More languagesFewer languages
- defunct in Malayalam
- പ്രവർത്തനരഹിതമായ, പ്രവർത്തനശൂന്യമായ, നിലച്ചുപോയ, ഉപയോഗിക്കാതെ കിടക്കുന്ന
- defunct in Kannada
- ಬಳಸದ, ನಿಂತುಹೋದ, ತೀರಿದ, ಸತ್ತ
Examples of defunct in a sentence
- Until a child process is reaped, it may be listed in the process table as a zombie or defunct process.
- Dad started out parking cars at the Dunes,” he said, referring to a defunct casino where Ms.
- The landrush to all intents and purposes made the cowboy defunct.
Synonyms of defunct
- antiquated
- disused
- outdated
- anachronistic
- antediluvian
- antique
- archaic
- backward
- backwards
- behind the times
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of defunct
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more defunct |
| superlative | most defunct |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | defuncts |
| present participle | defuncting |
| past participle | defuncted |
| past | defuncted |
Origin of defunct
Borrowed from Latin dēfunctus, past participle of dēfungor (“to finish, discharge”).
Words formed from defunct
Words that rhyme with defunct
Questions about defunct
- What does defunct mean?
- Defunct means no longer in use or active, nor expected to be again.
- What is defunct in Hindi?
- Defunct in Hindi is रफ़्ता (raftā). See Defunct meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is defunct?
- Defunct can be an adjective, a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce defunct?
- Defunct is pronounced /dɪˈfʌŋkt/ (UK).
Words near defunct in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: defunct (page history and authors); रफ़्ता (Hindi) (page history and authors); defunct (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); رفتہ (Urdu) (page history and authors); Defunct (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defunct (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); defunct (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “defunct.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/defunct. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.