Disuse

//dɪsˈjuːs// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state of not being used; neglect. uncountable

    "The garden fell into disuse and became overgrown."

  2. 2
    the state of something that has been unused and neglected wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To cease the use of. transitive

    "Whether in process of time Shakspeare grew weary of the bondage of rhyme, or whether he became convinced of its impropriety in a dramatick dialogue, his neglect of rhyming (for he never wholly disused it) seems to have been gradual."

  2. 2
    To disaccustom. archaic, transitive

    "He was disused to hard work."

Synonyms

All synonyms
abandonabandonmentabjureabsentationabstentionabstinence

Antonyms

All antonyms
employ

Example

More examples

"The vocabulary presents several words which are common to the modern Iberian languages but have fallen into disuse in Italian."

Etymology

From Old French desuser, equivalent to dis- + use.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.