defunct

adjective

de·​funct di-ˈfəŋkt 

dē-

: no longer living, existing, or functioning

wrote for a magazine that is now defunct

a defunct railroad

Did you know?

If you know that de- often means "the opposite of", it's easy to guess the meaning of defunct. Shakespeare seems to have been the first writer to use this adjective, in Henry V. Defunct American political parties include the Greenback Party, the Readjuster Party, and the Nullifier Party. Defunct Academy Awards categories include Best Dance Direction and Best Assistant Director. Defunct U.S. auto models include the Dudly Bug, the LuLu, the Hupmobile, the Gas-au-lec, and the Nu-Klea Starlite. But to speak of a person as defunct would sound disrespectful—which is how it sounds in e. e. cummings's famous poem "Buffalo Bill's defunct".

Synonyms

• bygone
• bypast
• dead
• departed
• done
• expired
• extinct
• gone
• nonextant
• vanished

Choose the Right Synonym for defunct

dead, defunct, deceased, departed, late mean devoid of life.

dead applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (such as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life.

a dead, listless performance

defunct stresses cessation of active existence or operation.

a defunct television series

deceased, departed, and late apply to persons who have died recently.

deceased is the preferred term in legal use.

the estate of the deceased

departed is used usually as a euphemism.

our departed sister

late is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status.

the company's late president

Examples of defunct in a Sentence

She wrote for the now-defunct newspaper.

a stack of brochures and a few faded placards are all that remain of the defunct organization

Recent Examples on the Web

The Browser Security pie slice reported phishing protection enabled in Chrome, Edge, and the defunct Internet Explorer, and also noted Bitdefender’s phishing protection as enabled. —PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024

Four titles from the defunct—but clearly still hugely popular—band have debuted on the chart in the past few months, and all but one of them have landed inside the top 10. —Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Insurance underwriting profit fell 69%, dented by rising claims, $565 million of losses from Helene, and a bankruptcy court settlement related to defunct talc supplier Whittaker Clark & Daniels. —Reuters, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024

Kassie Krut—the new trio featuring Eve Alpert and Kasra Kurt from the defunct Philadelphia math-rock band Palm and Nicks and Grazes producer Matt Anderegg—have announced their debut EP. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin defunctus, from past participle of defungi to finish, die, from de- + fungi to perform — more at function

First Known Use

1599, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

defunct

adjective

de·​funct di-ˈfəŋ(k)t 

: having finished the course of life or existence : dead, extinct

a defunct organization