Word.ws English Dictionary

desuetude

Syllables: de·su·e·tude/ˈdɛswɪtjuːd/US/ˈdɛswəˌt(j)ud/

desuetude noun: the state when something (for example, a custom or a law) is no longer observed nor practised; disuse, obsolescence.

Noun

desuetude (countable and uncountable, plural desuetudes)

  1. (formal, uncountable) The state when something (for example, a custom or a law) is no longer observed nor practised; disuse, obsolescence.
    • And they being in a capacity to forget by reaſon of deſuetude, it will be a nevv pleaſure to them to recall to minde their almoſt obliterate ſpeculations.1659, Henry More, chapter IV, in The Immortality of the Soul, so Farre Forth as It is Demonstrable from the Knowledge of Nature and the Light of Reason, London: […] J[ames] Flesher, for William...
    • For whatſoever is derived from the law of God cannot by men admit variety, nor ſuffer diminution, or goe into deſuetude, or be extinguiſh'd by abrogation: […]1660, Jeremy Taylor, “Rule I. The Conscience is Properly and Directly, Actively and Passively, under Pains of Sin and Punishment, Obliged to Obey the Laws of Men.”, in Ductor Dubitantium, or the Rule...
    1. (countable, formal) An instance of this.
      • Owing, I will believe, to Fred's sudden flurry in the unprovided moment,—unprovided, by reason of prior desuetudes and discouragements to speech, on Papa's side.1858, Thomas Carlyle, “News of the Day”, in History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book X, page 619
      • The spirit of that little school is wholly incompatible [with those] who cling to obsolete opinions and customs, and seem to be enamoured with the desuetudes of older times as such, and praising their own former times as vehemently is if they would sell them.1858, Kenelm Henry Digby, chapter XVIII, in The Children’s Bower; or, What You Like. […], volume II, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], →OCLC, page 205
  2. (countable, formal, obsolete) Chiefly followed by from or of: a cessation of practising or using something.
    • [T]he beſt Chriſtians, and (vvitneſs David) the greateſt Proficients in Scripture-Knovvledge, have the keeneſt Stomacks to this Food of Souls; and the vigorouſeſt Piety, by a Deſuetude and Neglect of it, is ſubject to Faint and Pine avvay.1663, Robert Boyle, Some Considerations Touching the Style of the H[oly] Scriptures. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, page 139
    • Again, ſome Countries were benè morati, well diſciplined in Learning, Arts, and Knowledge, but poſſibly by the Irruption of numerous Armies of Barbarous People, thoſe Countries were quickly over-grown with Barbariſm and deſuetude from their former Civility and Knowledge, and degenerated into the...a. 1677 (date written), Matthew Hale, “The Third Instance of Fact Proving the Origination of Mankind, Namely, the Invention of Arts”, in The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined...

desuetude meaning in Tamil, Bengali and Kannada

desuetude in Tamil

வழக்காற்றொழிவு

desuetude in Bengali

অব্যবহারের কারণে লোপ পাওয়া

desuetude in Kannada

ಬಳಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲದುದು, ಬಳಕೆ ತಪ್ಪಿದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ, ನಿರುಪಯೋಗ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ

Examples of desuetude in a sentence

  • We ſee in all things how deſuetude do's contract and narrow our faculties, ſo that we may apprehend only thoſe things wherein we are converſant.1674, [Richard Allestree], “Of Boasting”, in The Government of the Tongue. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the Theater, →OCLC, page 168:
  • [T]he main idea underpinning desuetude is the termination of treaties by virtue of the passing of a considerable lapse of time during which the treaty is not applied by the treaty parties.2011, Marcelo G. Kohen, “Desuetude and Obsolescence of Treaties”, in Enzo Cannizzaro, editor, The Law of Treaties beyond the Vienna...
  • But as a resident colleague amid the undeniably irritating deprivations, inefficiencies, and desuetudes of Great Musters, he frankly left something to be desired.1959, J[ohn] I[nnes] M[ackintosh] Stewart, “Poor Chowder”, in The Man Who Wrote Detective Stories: And Other Stories, New York, N.Y....

Synonyms of desuetude

All synonyms of desuetude

Forms of desuetude

pluraldesuetudes

Origin of desuetude

From Late Middle English desuetude, dissuetude (“discontinuance of a practice, disuse”), from Middle French désuétude (“obsolescence”) (modern French désuétude), from Latin dēsuētūdo (“discontinuance of a practice or a habit, disuse”), from dēsuētus + -tūdō (“suffix forming abstract nouns indicating conditions or states”). Dēsuētus is the perfect passive participle of dēsuēscō (“to make unaccustomed”), from de- (prefix having a reversing or undoing effect) + suēscō (“to become accustomed or used to; (Late Latin) to accustom, habituate, train”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“self”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”), in the sense “to set as one’s own”).

Words formed from desuetude

Questions about desuetude

What does desuetude mean?
Desuetude means the state when something (for example, a custom or a law) is no longer observed nor practised; disuse, obsolescence.
What is desuetude in Tamil?
Desuetude in Tamil is வழக்காற்றொழிவு. See Desuetude meaning in Tamil.
How do you use desuetude in a sentence?
We ſee in all things how deſuetude do's contract and narrow our faculties, ſo that we may apprehend only thoſe things wherein we are converſant.
What part of speech is desuetude?
Desuetude is a noun.
How do you pronounce desuetude?
Desuetude is pronounced /ˈdɛswɪtjuːd/ (UK).
What is the plural of desuetude?
The plural of desuetude is desuetudes.

Words near desuetude in the dictionary

  1. desuckering
  2. desuckers
  3. desudation
  4. desudations
  5. desuete
  6. desuetude
  7. desuetudes
  8. desuetudinous
  9. desugar
  10. desugared
  11. desugaring

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: desuetude (page history and authors); desuetude (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); desuetude (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); desuetude (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-desuetude1.wav.

Cite this entry: “desuetude.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/desuetude. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.