Word
defunct
Phoneticsde·funct
US/dɪˈfəŋkt/
UK/dɪfˈʌŋkt/
Definition
adj. no longer existing, living, or working. You use this to describe things like old companies, laws, or machines that are gone for good.
adj. no longer in existence, operation, or use. Often used to describe formal entities such as organisations, legal statutes, or technological systems that have been permanently discontinued.
Examples
“The old factory is now defunct.”
“After the merger, the original brand name became defunct and was replaced by a new corporate identity.”
“The researcher spent years documenting the grammar of a defunct language that had not been spoken natively for over a century, preserving its structure for future generations.”
Examples
simple
“The old factory is now defunct.”
contextual
“After the merger, the original brand name became defunct and was replaced by a new corporate identity.”
complex
“The researcher spent years documenting the grammar of a defunct language that had not been spoken natively for over a century, preserving its structure for future generations.”
Usage
Typically used predicatively after a linking verb or attributively before a noun to describe systems, laws, or organisations.
Real-World Examples
“We’re talking about the now defunct American agrochemicals giant Monsanto, which after the second world war cornered the market in, shall we say, controversial chemical innovations.” “Ruteng Regional General Hospital's operating room, delivery room, pharmacy, and laboratory were all rendered defunct after the building's roof collapsed.” Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dēfunctus, past participle of dēfungor (“to finish, discharge”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/defunct