ENGLISH
REFERENCE

defunct

adj.
C1 Advanced US //dɪˈfəŋkt// UK //dɪfˈʌŋkt// de·funct Archaic

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.


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.

Origin

Borrowed from Latin dēfunctus, past participle of dēfungor (“to finish, discharge”).

Usage

Typically used predicatively after a linking verb or attributively before a noun to describe systems, laws, or organisations.

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