as in relic
one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity
now a has-been, the actor's been reduced to appearing on a third-rate reality show
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of has-been
In the Seventies, he was mocked as a Vegas has-been in a jumpsuit; in the Eighties, as a cultural colonizer.
—
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
When her estranged daughter unexpectedly moves into their crumbling Manhattan townhouse, the TV has-been is confronted with the one role she’s spent her entire life avoiding: motherhood.
—Peter White, Deadline, 19 Feb. 2026
Ken Blake Brea Sorry to see Jerry Neuheisel leave UCLA to join traitor and coaching has-been Chip Kelly at Northwestern.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2026
All this success begs the legitimate question of how the once-struggling reality show for has-been celebrities reinvented itself and became a pop-cultural phenomenon that any public figure would be lucky to utilize as their re-introduction into the zeitgeist.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
In other words, the vainly hopeful Larry is about to endure twin humiliations, leaving him feeling bumped out of his life and into the past—a has-been, instantly old.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2025
DiCaprio makes a great, vital has-been, squinting at the horrors around him in disbelief, but mostly, driven by the need to protect his child.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
And as alcoholic has-been Morris, Matthau was fantastically slovenly and cynical, an anti–role model for the ages.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026
When her estranged daughter unexpectedly moves into their crumbling Manhattan townhouse, the TV has-been is confronted with the one role she’s spent her entire life avoiding: motherhood.
—Peter White, Deadline, 19 Feb. 2026
Ken Blake Brea Sorry to see Jerry Neuheisel leave UCLA to join traitor and coaching has-been Chip Kelly at Northwestern.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2026
All this success begs the legitimate question of how the once-struggling reality show for has-been celebrities reinvented itself and became a pop-cultural phenomenon that any public figure would be lucky to utilize as their re-introduction into the zeitgeist.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
In other words, the vainly hopeful Larry is about to endure twin humiliations, leaving him feeling bumped out of his life and into the past—a has-been, instantly old.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2025
DiCaprio makes a great, vital has-been, squinting at the horrors around him in disbelief, but mostly, driven by the need to protect his child.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
And as alcoholic has-been Morris, Matthau was fantastically slovenly and cynical, an anti–role model for the ages.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for has-been
Noun
-
But SROs are a relic of a different and older New York City.—
Matthew Sedacca,
Curbed,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Others, like the dialogue around race in casting, feel like a relic of that discourse’s peak in the 2010s.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The arm measurement spawned numerous online jokes, comparing Bain’s arms to those of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a dinosaur with short arms.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Presence of stones Classified as a thescelosaurid, this bipedal dinosaur was part of a lineage found across East Asia and North America, potentially characterized by a fuzzy exterior.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Has-been.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/has-been. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
