obsolete

1 of 2

adjective

ob·​so·​lete ˌäb-sə-ˈlēt How to pronounce obsolete (audio)
ˈäb-sə-ˌlēt
1
a
: no longer in use or no longer useful
an obsolete word
b
: of a kind or style no longer current : old-fashioned
an obsolete technology
farming methods that are now obsolete
2
of a plant or animal part : indistinct or imperfect as compared with a corresponding part in related organisms : vestigial
obsoletely adverb
obsoleteness noun

obsolete

2 of 2

verb

obsoleted; obsoleting

transitive verb

: to make (something) old-fashioned or no longer useful : make obsolete
Choose the Right Synonym for obsolete

old, ancient, venerable, antique, antiquated, archaic, obsolete mean having come into existence or use in the more or less distant past.

old may apply to either actual or merely relative length of existence.

old houses
an old sweater of mine

ancient applies to occurrence, existence, or use in or survival from the distant past.

ancient accounts of dragons

venerable stresses the impressiveness and dignity of great age.

the family's venerable patriarch

antique applies to what has come down from a former or ancient time.

collected antique Chippendale furniture

antiquated implies being discredited or outmoded or otherwise inappropriate to the present time.

antiquated teaching methods

archaic implies having the character or characteristics of a much earlier time.

the play used archaic language to convey a sense of period

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

Examples of obsolete in a Sentence

Adjective It may not be welcome news in her home state of Pennsylvania, but chemist Cynthia Kuper could help make steel obsolete. Experimenting with carbon nanotubes, structures a few atoms wide but 100 times stronger and much lighter than steel, Kuper calls her work an "amusement park discovery." Joanna Chung, Newsweek, 23 Sept. 2002
He exercised a right so rare, at this the fag-end of the century, as to be practically obsolete. The most fundamental right of all. The right to be the good guy. Zadie Smith, White Teeth, 2000
I never had parents, really. My mom was gone, my dad was at work or with his girlfriends, we had baby-sitters. My parents were obsolete. Jonathan Kozol, Voices From the Future, 1993
The system was made obsolete by their invention. I was told my old printer is obsolete and I can't get replacement parts. Verb While many … do describe various small, quick-loading 35mm film cartridges, modern technology has obsoleted these. Herbert Keppler, Popular Photography, November 1993
… older cpu's whose speed and efficiency never were fully tapped before they were effectively obsoleted by their manufacturers … Edith Myers, Datamation, November 1977
For radio itself deliberately obsoletes today what it built yesterday. David Sarnoff, Television, 1936
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
If the version of A.I. described here becomes obsolete—if the forest is burned down—then whoever shows up next will be obliged to create a viable new cartoon, along with all the rest of the human elements needed for the new technology to be a true technology. Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024 Critical observers express concern over AI’s impact on human creativity and fear a future where a wide range of jobs might become obsolete. Daria Gonzalez, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Building codes and infrastructure would potentially become obsolete as seasonality and precipitation patterns rapidly shift warm places into cool ones, and vice versa. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 So what’s this system that has sped up five years of research into a week and made graduate students obsolete? IEEE Spectrum, 9 Feb. 2024 Advances in quantum computing and facial recognition had made passports obsolete. Elliot Ackerman, WIRED, 5 Feb. 2024 Being ready for new adventures has helped Stahl stay in business over the years, even as the internet threatened to make travel agencies obsolete and the pandemic shut down the industry for months. Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2024 Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, and service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products. Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, 31 Jan. 2024 The notion of a lifelong commitment to a single career path has become increasingly obsolete. Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024
Verb
Additionally, Russian jammers obsoleted much of the Ukrainian drone fleet. Vikram Mittal, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 By obsoleting customer-service hell, for instance—replacing 40-minute hold times and well-meaning but sometimes confused agents with bots who answer in milliseconds and solve problems in moments, leveraging their absolute knowledge of every quirk and hidden feature of the most intricate products. Rob Reid, Ars Technica, 24 Feb. 2023 With a mission to obsolete the use of bullets, reduce social conflict, and assist the justice system, the company’s products have been observing strong demand with a total order backlog of $1.5 billion. Trefis Team, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021 With a mission to obsolete the use of bullets, reduce social conflict, and assist the judicial system, the company’s products have been observing heightened demand even during the pandemic. Trefis Team, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obsolete.' 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

Adjective and Verb

Latin obsoletus, from past participle of obsolescere to grow old, become disused, perhaps from ob- toward + solēre to be accustomed

First Known Use

Adjective

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1640, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of obsolete was in 1579

Dictionary Entries Near obsolete

Cite this Entry

“Obsolete.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obsolete. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

obsolete

adjective
ob·​so·​lete
ˌäb-sə-ˈlēt,
ˈäb-sə-ˌlēt
1
: no longer in use
an obsolete word
2
: of a kind or style no longer current : outmoded
obsolete machinery
obsoletely adverb
obsoleteness noun

Medical Definition

obsolete

adjective
: no longer active or distinct
obsolete cases of infection
obsolete pulmonary lesions

More from Merriam-Webster on obsolete

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