Words / C1

di-FUNGKT/dɪˈfʌŋkt/

Defunct means no longer existing or operating: a defunct railway, a defunct committee. Closed and obsolete are cousins; deceased is for people. Extinct is for species. Do not call a sleeping person defunct, and do not use defunct for a tool that still works but is unfashionable — that is dated or obsolete.

Meaning

No longer existing, used, or operating.

Examples

• “The defunct railway line is now a cycle path.”
• “The defunct mill is now flats; the chimney is listed.”
• “A defunct email address bounced; the person had simply changed jobs.”

Good to know

No longer in operation. People: deceased. Species: extinct. Unfashionable but working: dated/obsolete. Not asleep.

Near in meaning

obsolete

New