obsolete

adjective ob·so·lete \ ˌäb-sə-ˈlēt , ˈäb-sə-ˌlēt \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of obsolete

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b : of a kind or style no longer current : old-fashioned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

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obsoletely

adverb

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obsoleteness

noun

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Examples of obsolete in a Sentence

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I was told my old printer is obsolete and I can't get replacement parts.

Recent Examples of obsolete from the Web

With electric cars likely to displace Germany’s autobahn cruisers, the expertise accumulated in scores of places like Homburg could soon be obsolete.

— Bloomberg.com, "The Town on the Front Lines of Germany’s Battle to Preserve its Industrial Future," 28 Mar. 2018
But with the end of the Cold War, their worldview became increasingly obsolete.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "America’s Disappearing Foreign Policy," 27 Mar. 2018
Recovery is not a linear process, and running into a bump (or a few bumps) in the road doesn't render all your progress obsolete.

— refinery29.com, "What To Remember If You Experience A Depression Relapse," 21 Mar. 2018
Overall, experts say far too little has been done to shore up vulnerabilities in 10,000 U.S. voting jurisdictions that mostly run on obsolete and imperfectly secured technology.

— CBS News, "Top Senate Intel members launch effort to thwart election threats," 20 Mar. 2018
Megan McArdle Bannon Per Annum The Stephen Bannon Index, measuring the media mentions of the Trump adviser as a proxy for bad news for Trump, ought to be obsolete.

— Fortune, "Is President Trump Good or Bad for the Economy? These 14 Numbers Give an Answer," 22 Jan. 2018
Several years ago, emergency highway call boxes were being phased out across the country, having become largely obsolete thanks to the ubiquitous cellphone.

— michael smolens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego's highway call boxes fade, but the tax for them stays," 23 Mar. 2018
Old-fashioned venous blood draws, where the patient watches as vial after vial of blood is collected, would quickly become obsolete, Theranos promised.

— jenny gold, Vox, "How Theranos hid its sketchiness from reporters — and helped keep the puff pieces coming," 22 Mar. 2018
Experts also said that far too little has been done to shore up those vulnerabilities in 10,000 U.S. voting jurisdictions that mostly run on obsolete and imperfectly secured technology.

— amy lieu, Fox News, "Homeland Security officials to testify in Senate hearing on election security," 21 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'obsolete.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of obsolete

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

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First Known Use: 1579

See Words from the same year

obsolete Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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

obsolete

verb ob·so·lete \ ˌäb-sə-ˈlēt , ˈäb-sə-ˌlēt \

Definition of obsolete

obsoleted; obsoleting

transitive verb

: to make (something) old-fashioned or no longer useful : make obsolete

Examples of obsolete in a Sentence

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