Words / B2

owt-DAYT-id/ˌaʊtˈdeɪtɪd/

Outdated means no longer useful or fashionable because something newer exists: outdated guidance; an outdated textbook. Obsolete is stronger (no longer used at all, already elsewhere); old-fashioned is about style (already in the dictionary). Outdated guidance still on the portal is a safeguarding risk. Mix-up: outdated vs out-of-date (close twin, often hyphenated). Do not call last week’s bulletin outdated without a replacement date.

Meaning

No longer useful or fashionable because something newer exists.

Examples

• “Outdated guidance still on the portal is a safeguarding risk, the inspector said.”
• “An outdated textbook missed the 2019 boundary change, which is the syllabus sense.”

Good to know

outdated + noun; hopelessly outdated. Stronger: obsolete. Twin: out of date. Trap: old-fashioned (style). Policy, IT, and textbooks. Superseded, not merely vintage.

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