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obsolete Definition

ob·so·lete (äb′sə lēt′, äb′sə lēt′)

adjective

  1. no longer in use or practice; discarded
  2. no longer in fashion; out-of-date; passé
  3. Biol. rudimentary or poorly developed as compared with its counterpart in other individuals of a related species, the opposite sex, etc.; vestigial: said of an organ, etc.

Etymology: L obsoletus, pp. of obsolescere, to go out of use < ob- (see ob-) + *-solescere (< exolescere, to grow out of use < ex-, ex- + ? alescere, to increase: see adolescent)

transitive verb -·let′ed, -·let′·ing

to make obsolete, as by replacing with something newer

obsolete Related Forms

ob′·so·lete′ly adverb ob′·so·lete′·ness noun

obsolete Synonyms

obsolete

modif.

antiquated, archaic, out-of-date; see old 2, 3, old-fashioned. See syn. study at old.

obsolete Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • virtually: These types of aircraft make the need for runways virtually obsolete.
  • largely: This is largely obsolete now the NASA DEMs are freely available.
  • now: Fathers are now obsolete, nothing more than mobile sperm donors creating new drones for the States new consumer class.
  • almost: He also tells us that in the 1970s the " now almost obsolete floppy disk " only held 1 Mb.
  • somewhat: In its attempt to be in step with contemporary literary criticism, much biblical criticism unfortunately is somewhat obsolete on arrival.
  • increasingly: Duties on share dealing and on gambling look increasingly obsolete in the face of Internet competition.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • render: The collapse of the USSR had rendered this schism effectively obsolete.
  • make: By the First World War, military technology had made the forts obsolete.

Modifies a noun

  • pesticide: This includes used oil, batteries, asbestos, unwanted or obsolete pesticides and veterinary wastes.
  • inventory: Indeed, excess and obsolete inventory is a very good barometer of the overall effectiveness of a company's operations.
  • hardware: Second, replacing obsolete hardware through acquisition of new major weapons systems is less of a priority.
  • stock: But we do specialize in obsolete, new old stock spares and there is no guaranteed route for us obtaining these.
  • equipment: The rest comes from old scrap which is material salvaged from obsolete equipment.
  • component: Who makes the decisions to prolong the lives of selected obsolete components?

Used with adjective complement

  • render: Software isn't rendered obsolete in exactly the way cars are.
  • become: The medium may become obsolete with a few years.
  • declare: Mk 6 and all carriages were declared obsolete in 1913.
  • consider: He also noted that equipment, which may be considered obsolete here, would be considered useful elsewhere.
  • seem: Then David May signed, and much of the content seemed obsolete.
  • make: The proposed set must not be likely to be made obsolete within the near future.