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
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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
-
This relic from the past sewed together the 116-foot diameter panels that covered an area of roughly 16,000 square feet.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
29 May 2026
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Once considered delightfully kitschy relics of suburban Americana, porch geese are waddling their way back into the spotlight.—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
As this natural history points out, birds are dinosaurs—the only ones who survived the last extinction event.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
-
For one thing, there are dinosaurs in this seemingly normal suburban enclave, which appears to have suddenly been displaced into a different time and place.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Has-been.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/has-been. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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