Obsolete
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An obsolete thing or person.
- 1 To cause to become obsolete. transitive
"This software component has been obsoleted."
- 1 No longer in use; gone into disuse; disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer). usually
"Speedy, worldwide, accessible delivery of news through the Web has made newspapers obsolete."
- 2 Imperfectly developed; not very distinct.
"These two birds somewhat closely resemble each other, but the Sedge Warbler is russet-brown above, the feathers with dark centres, the pale buff eyestripe is very clearly defined, and the underparts are buffish white; the Reed Warbler is more olive on the upper parts, the feathers having no dark centres, the underparts are more inclined to buff, and the eyestripe is nearly obsolete."
- 1 no longer in use wordnet
- 2 old; no longer valid or fashionable wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"The obsolete regime is about to collapse."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin obsolētus (“worn out, gone out of use”), past participle of obsolēscere (“to wear out, fall into disuse, grow old, decay”); see obsolesce.
More for "obsolete"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.