variants
also kaputt
1
as in doomed
facing certain defeat, disaster, or death
once the Germans were forced to retreat from Stalingrad, the Nazi cause was kaput
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in obsolete
having passed its time of use or usefulness
hard-line Soviet-style Communism became kaput in Russia
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order
the heating system went kaput on the coldest day of the year
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kaput
Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, seems adamant that the OG Yellowstone is kaput.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2024
Now all three of those competitors are kaput, felled by runs on deposits during the biggest banking crisis in a decade and a half.
—Rob Copeland, New York Times, 14 June 2023
The Stooges are now functionally kaput—of the original lineup, only Pop is left.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2019
At least not on Sunday afternoon, nearly a full two days after the Clippers were supposed to be done, finished, as kaput as the Kings – those in Sacramento and Los Angeles.
—Jeff Miller, Orange County Register, 29 Apr. 2017
The damages for that less-than-brilliant marketing idea could be as much as $120 million, meaning the company as a whole is pretty much financially kaput.
—Susan Arendt, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2007
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2024
Now all three of those competitors are kaput, felled by runs on deposits during the biggest banking crisis in a decade and a half.
—Rob Copeland, New York Times, 14 June 2023
The Stooges are now functionally kaput—of the original lineup, only Pop is left.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2019
At least not on Sunday afternoon, nearly a full two days after the Clippers were supposed to be done, finished, as kaput as the Kings – those in Sacramento and Los Angeles.
—Jeff Miller, Orange County Register, 29 Apr. 2017
The damages for that less-than-brilliant marketing idea could be as much as $120 million, meaning the company as a whole is pretty much financially kaput.
—Susan Arendt, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2007
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kaput
Adjective
-
Her mother, Colette Watson, was a flight attendant on the doomed Eastern plane, but walked away from the crash nearly unharmed.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
-
This fuzzy, snout-nosed, smart aleck extraterrestrial whose name was Gordon Shumway crashed in the suburban garage of the Tanner family in California after escaping from the doomed planet of Melmac, which was destroyed by nuclear war.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Take-home tests and essays are becoming obsolete.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
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By learning from these craftspeople, AIs can now replace them in offering advice, thus threatening to render the original human experts obsolete.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Another set piece involving a malfunctioning chair lift is excruciatingly tense.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Logging later resumed under an archaic mandate and approval processes that a past Cal Fire director and others say still violates key laws such as CEQA and works at cross purposes to the missions of other agencies.—
John P. O’Brien,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
-
But Vermont, unfortunately, has a lot of archaic politics that allow a lot of abuse of wildlife.—
Stephanie Nolasco,
FOXNews.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Williams and the Bears began to stall completely on securing crucial third down conversions.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The violent up and down cycles were strong enough to disengage the plane’s autopilot system and cause minor damage to the plane’s interior as everything that wasn’t strapped down went flying.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Owner Jason Boso fixed that, infusing $2 million into the 10-year-old bar on better bathrooms, a covered section of the patio and a re-done kitchen.—
Sarah Blaskovich,
Dallas News,
3 Apr. 2023
Adjective
-
Pundits have always dominated the ranks of posters on social media, but now the masses of silent followers are declining, and continued posting risks preaching to accounts of the converted, the disengaged, or the defunct.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
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Befriended by the aged proprietor of a now defunct Greek coast restaurant, the hen becomes an unwitting witness of human misery – greed, migrant trafficking, revenge upon revenge.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The systems could have electrical compressor failure, which can cause the defroster or defogger to be inoperative, increasing the risk of a crash, the recall notice said.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Also inoperative the morning of the crash were the runway alignment indicator lights, which had not worked for more than three years.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kaput.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kaput. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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