defunct

adjective

de·​funct di-ˈfəŋkt How to pronounce defunct (audio)
dē-
: no longer living, existing, or functioning
wrote for a magazine that is now defunct
a defunct railroad

Did you know?

If you know that de- often means "the opposite of", it's easy to guess the meaning of defunct. Shakespeare seems to have been the first writer to use this adjective, in Henry V. Defunct American political parties include the Greenback Party, the Readjuster Party, and the Nullifier Party. Defunct Academy Awards categories include Best Dance Direction and Best Assistant Director. Defunct U.S. auto models include the Dudly Bug, the LuLu, the Hupmobile, the Gas-au-lec, and the Nu-Klea Starlite. But to speak of a person as defunct would sound disrespectful—which is how it sounds in e. e. cummings's famous poem "Buffalo Bill's defunct".

Choose the Right Synonym for defunct

dead, defunct, deceased, departed, late mean devoid of life.

dead applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (such as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life.

a dead, listless performance

defunct stresses cessation of active existence or operation.

a defunct television series

deceased, departed, and late apply to persons who have died recently.

deceased is the preferred term in legal use.

the estate of the deceased

departed is used usually as a euphemism.

our departed sister

late is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status.

the company's late president

Examples of defunct in a Sentence

She wrote for the now-defunct newspaper. a stack of brochures and a few faded placards are all that remain of the defunct organization
Recent Examples on the Web Harvey headed next for Florent, a now defunct all-night diner, on Gansevoort Street, a block from the Hudson River. David Owen, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2024 Most defunct golf courses get paved over, but a number are getting transformed into ecological life rafts for wildlife, plants — and people. Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024 The case comes in a variety of colors and sizes, but features the defunct airline's globular logo in a funky ’70s font. Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2024 Shooting in the defunct Copenhagen prison of Vridsløselille, DP Jasper J. Spanning watches Eva and the prisoners the way a documentary crew might, shadowing them at work and observing when no one else is around. Peter Debruge, Variety, 22 Feb. 2024 The company, now defunct, had received a permit in 1959 to dump containerized radioactive waste about 150 miles offshore, according to the U.S. Federal Register. Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2024 The treasurer of the defunct company, Thomas Datwyler, had performed the same function for the shell company that donated $1 million to the Arizona audit a year earlier. Robert Draper, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 Media Matters also provided NBC News with additional examples of how false narratives about the defunct border bill were also being spread by two Spanish-language radio shows in South Florida. Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 16 Feb. 2024 At this point, the observation that Joe Biden is for all intents and purposes defunct is not an opinion so much as a self-evident fact. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 12 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defunct.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin defunctus, from past participle of defungi to finish, die, from de- + fungi to perform — more at function

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of defunct was in 1599

Dictionary Entries Near defunct

Cite this Entry

“Defunct.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defunct. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

defunct

adjective
de·​funct di-ˈfəŋ(k)t How to pronounce defunct (audio)
: having finished the course of life or existence : dead, extinct
a defunct organization

More from Merriam-Webster on defunct

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