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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".
Examples of defunct in a Sentence
Space.com Staff, Space.com, 28 Dec. 2025
The Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan is now defunct, after a court blocked the program.
—Annie Nova, CNBC, 26 Dec. 2025
Gaines was removed from the organization’s online staff directory in May, according to internet archives, and the webpage for the Riley Gaines Center has also been defunct since that time.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 Dec. 2025
It was held across the street from the hotel on the sidewalk in front of Del Mar’s now-defunct Ocean Song Gallery & Earth Song Bookstore in the center of town.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defunct
Cite this Entry
“Defunct.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defunct. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
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defunct
adjective
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