obsolete
/ŏb″sə-lēt′, ŏb′sə-lēt″/
adjective
- No longer in use. an obsolete word.
- Outmoded in design, style, or construction. an obsolete locomotive.
- (Biology) Vestigial or rudimentary, especially in comparison with related or ancestral species, as the tailbone of an ape. Used of an organ or other part of an organism.
Merriam-Webster
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OBSOLETE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
no longer in use or no longer useful; of a kind or style no longer current : old-fashioned; indistinct or imperfect as compared with a corresponding part in related organisms : rudimentary, vestigial… See the full definition
Cambridge Dictionary
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OBSOLETE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
1. not in use any more, having been replaced by something newer and better or…
How does the adjective 'obsolete' differ from other similar words?
Some common synonyms of obsolete are ancient, antiquated, antique, archaic, old, and venerable. While all these words mean "having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past," obsolete may apply to something regarded as no longer acceptable or useful even though it is still in existence.
// a computer that makes earlier models obsolete
merriam-webster.com
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OBSOLETE Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster ...
When could 'ancient' be used to replace 'obsolete'?
The synonyms ancient and obsolete are sometimes interchangeable, but ancient applies to occurrence, existence, or use in or survival from the distant past.
// ancient accounts of dragons
merriam-webster.com
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OBSOLETE Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster ...
When is 'archaic' a more appropriate choice than 'obsolete'?
In some situations, the words archaic and obsolete are roughly equivalent. However, archaic implies having the character or characteristics of a much earlier time.
// the play used archaic language to convey a sense of period
merriam-webster.com
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OBSOLETE Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster ...
Dictionary.com
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OBSOLETE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
The word obsoleteness is hardly ever used, obsolescence standing as the noun form for both obsolete and obsolescent ... 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 · Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context.
Videos
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What is the Definition of OBSOLETE? (Illustrated Example) - YouTube
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Meaning of Obsolete in Hindi HinKhoj Dictionary - YouTube
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Obsolete Meaning - YouTube
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Collins Dictionary
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OBSOLETE definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
We welcome feedback: report an example sentence to the Collins team. Read more… It will go obsolete like the floppy disc did. The Guardian (2015)It could have potentially made them obsolete. The Guardian (2015)What other purpose can an obsolete phone box serve? The Guardian (2021)The bad news for the industry is that the weights machines seem obsolete now. The Guardian (2021)Both are more or less obsolete. The Guardian (2020)And twenty per cent of the 2,000 adults quizzed think they are about to become obsolete.
Merriam-Webster
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Examples of 'OBSOLETE' in a Sentence | Merriam-Webster
The construction of the Mount Hope Bridge in the late 1920s made the light obsolete. — Brian Amaral, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2022 · Then all the games were played and the whole thing was obsolete within hours. — Joe Sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Feb.
Vocabulary.com
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Obsolete - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms | Vocabulary.com
Use the adjective obsolete for something that is out of date. As the Rolling Stones song "Out of Time" goes, "You're obsolete, my baby, my poor old-fashioned baby."
Thesaurus.com
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OBSOLETE Synonyms & Antonyms - 71 words | Thesaurus.com
On example is software, pulled down by doubts that artificial intelligence will make some software products obsolete. ... Yet investors also have been gripped by concerns that artificial intelligence could overtake the software industry, make other business lines obsolete and trigger painful white-collar job losses.
Merriam-Webster
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OBSOLETE Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
While all these words mean "having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past," obsolete may apply to something regarded as no longer acceptable or useful even though it is still in existence.
Encyclopedia Britannica
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Obsolete Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
[+] more examples [-] hide examples ... : replaced by something newer · obsolete mills and factories · [+] more examples [-] hide examples [+] Example sentences [-] Hide examples · 2 · : no longer used by anyone · an obsolete ...
YourDictionary
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Obsolete Definition & Meaning | YourDictionary
Sacramental confession is enjoined, but has recently become obsolete; prayers for the departed and invocation of saints form part of the services.
Longman
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obsolete | meaning of obsolete in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishobsoleteob‧so‧lete /ˈɒbsəliːt $ ˌɑːbsəˈliːt/ ●●○ adjective OLD-FASHIONEDno longer useful, because something newer and better has been invented → out-of-date obsolete weapons computer hardware that quickly became obsolete Will ...
Oxford English Dictionary
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obsolete, v. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into obsolete, v.
Wordnik
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obsolete — definition, examples, related words and more at Wordnik
From Latin obsoletus ("worn out, gone out of use"), past participle of obsolescere ("to wear out, fall into disuse, grow old, decay"); see obsolesce. Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word obsolete.
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
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obsolete adjective - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
With technological changes many traditional skills have become obsolete.
YourDictionary
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Examples of "Obsolete" in a Sentence | YourDictionary.com
Believers could be in no uncertainty as to which of two contradictory passages remained in force; and they might still find edification in that which had become obsolete. ... On the other hand, Egyptian is certainly related to Semitic. Even before the triliterality of Old Egyptian was recognized, Erman showed that the so-called pseudoparticiple had been really in meaning and in form a precise analogue of the Semitic perfect, though its original employment was almost obsolete in the time of the earliest known texts.
Collins Dictionary
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Examples of 'OBSOLETE' in a sentence | Collins English Sentences
The local neighborhood corner store would be obsolete. ... Its subjectivity replaces and makes expertise obsolete.
Sentence Dictionary
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Obsolete in a sentence (esp. good sentence like quote, proverb...)
Meaning: ['ɑbsəlɪːt /ɒb-] adj. 1. old; no longer in use or valid or fashionable 2. no longer in use. ... 13, First came the turbojet, now obsolete, then the turboprop, which is still found onboard small planes. 14, These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.
Wiktionary
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obsolete - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete. (biology) Imperfectly developed; not very distinct. ... These two birds somewhat closely resemble each other, ...
Wordpandit
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Obsolete - Wordpandit
April 19, 2025 - Picture a once-loved cassette player ... “obsolete.” “Obsolete” captures the poignancy of things that are left behind as society moves forward, a reminder of our ever-evolving world....
Reddit
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r/linguistics on Reddit: Obsolete vs. low frequency words
February 28, 2023 -
I was reading something and came across the word sincretismo (syncretism in English) and was wondering what position do words with very low frequency of use occupy. This is surely not the best example, but the question is: do words that are rarely used, either because they belong to a specialized field or a more elevated form of the language, ever become obsolete? Or will they always be a part of the language as long as they serve their purpose?
To me, it seems that a word will exist as long as there is a context for it to be used. But does this mean that, hypothetically, in 400 years the same word could still exist even if its use was practically non-existent?
I guess what I am trying to figure out is when does a word become obsolete, and how this relates to specialized terminology that isn’t present in common language and is even scarcely used within a field. It might be a stupid question, but I would appreciate it if anyone could enlighten me on the subject.
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Answering to this depends on what obsolete means to you. Merriam-Webster defines it as “no longer in use or no longer useful”, which are rather different criteria. A word might not be in general use anymore but it might be useful to talk about the past, e.g. in books or conferences about the history of a certain field. My favourite example is the Spanish word lansquenete, which is a straight borrowing from German Landsknecht and refers to a German infantry soldier during the reign of the House of Habsburg. This is a doubly obsolete word since the vast majority of Spanish speakers don't know it and it can't really be used anymore, nor is it really needed. Yet it's not marked as obsolete in the DLE (the dictionary of the Real Academia Española) because it still has a place in the parlance of historians, in historical novels, period pieces, etc. On the other hand, there was once in the DLE a word cocadriz, designated the female of the crocodile (cocodrilo); it was removed from the dictionary because it was truly obsolete: no-one used it anymore in any way, apparently, as far as the lexicographers could determine. Yet it seems that very few words get removed in this way; many are saved by being used in the classics (something like if Cervantes used a word twice, then it stays in the dictionary forever). I'm giving examples from Spanish because it has (and has had for a while) a more or less centralized language authority. With most other languages, determining whether a word is obsolete or just very infrequent depends on who gathers the textual corpora and studies the frequencies of words and which criteria they use.
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Quoted from usage notes for Merriam Webster: Three types of status labels are used in this dictionary—temporal, regional, and stylistic—to signal that a word or a sense of a word is not part of the standard vocabulary of English. The temporal label obsolete means that there is no evidence of use since 1755. The label obsolete is a comment on the word being defined. When a thing, as distinguished from the word used to designate it, is obsolete, appropriate orientation is usually given in the definition. The temporal label archaic means that a word or sense once in common use is found today only sporadically or in special contexts: Source: "Usage labels." Merriam Webster Dictionary, accessed 28 Feb 2023. https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/explanatory-notes/dict-usage Edit: you might also check out "How does a word get into a Merriam-Webster dictionary?" and "If a word is not in the dictionary, does that mean it isn't a real word?" under their FAQ page. https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq-words-and-dictionaries