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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
-
The streetcar would move too slowly, carry too few people or too many, be obsolete on opening day, cost too much, and trigger gentrification.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
18 Apr. 2025
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Maintaining obsolete systems also consumes time and budget that businesses could invest in high-value strategic initiatives.—
Manuel Sanchez,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Executing on it will be more complicated because the entire system is based on archaic policies and principles.—
Dan Gingiss,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
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The chain gang will still be on the field as a backup option, but the archaic measuring system will no longer be the primary way to determine a first down or not on close plays.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
After a down season by his standards (career-low .788 OPS in 2024), Alonso’s entire game looks better in 2025.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2025
-
The Trojans are coming off a down year in the first season under head coach Eric Musselman.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Christopher Hoenig, a spokesperson for Jersey Central Power & Light, said that the power company de-energized high-voltage lines around the defunct Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant to protect the safety of firefighters in the area.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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The shells are transported to a storage site in East Haven, a defunct quarry that’s high, dry and far enough from homes to avoid any odor issues.—
Jillian Freyer,
New York Times,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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At the same time, Israel has acted to render what is left of Assad’s navy inoperative.—
Bassem Eid,
New York Daily News,
2 Jan. 2025
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Although there several election ballot scanners were inoperative at multiple polling locations in Cambria County in Pennsylvania, no widespread voting problems had been reported by the late afternoon.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The sunk cost fallacy, for example, can lead companies to continue investing in maintaining a physical office space, despite the benefits of remote work.—
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky,
Forbes,
6 Feb. 2023
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The sunk cost fallacy is a bias that behavioral economists say can cause a person to stick with a losing investment.—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi,
Discover Magazine,
22 Mar. 2022
Adjective
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The experimental Type 092 is now inoperable and is replaced by its more advanced successor, the Type 094, the Federation of American Scientists wrote in a report in March.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025
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State investigators found numerous violations there, including a rat infestation, medications not being properly administered, inoperable emergency pull cords in some bedrooms and neglected residents.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey (Netflix documentary) Rescued from poachers, an endangered baby pangolin embarks on a journey back to the wild with help from a devoted human guardian in this documentary.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
19 Apr. 2025
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At the time, conservationists fretted that the enormous hurricane was going to wipe out the last of the island’s Schaus’ swallowtails (Papilio aristodemus), a species of endangered black-and-yellow butterfly native to southern Florida and now found only on Elliott Key and nearby Key Largo.—
Marina Wang,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kaput.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kaput. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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