1
as in extinct
no longer existing
a stack of brochures and a few faded placards are all that remain of the defunct organization
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fallen
no longer living
a defunct species that we know only through fossil remains
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defunct
The video was leaked five years later to now defunct Gawker Media, which published it on various sites.
—
Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
San Francisco officials fought bitterly against Waymo and now-defunct Cruise robotaxis from General Motors, after their vehicles repeatedly blocked traffic and emergency vehicles, with Cruise the main perpetrator.
—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2025
The shows officially start on the 11th, and Public School, yes, the formerly defunct label by Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, is hosting a supper club extravaganza.
—Vogue Runway, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2025
The book was shortlisted for a prize by the now-defunct Costa Book Awards and dramatized into a radio play for BBC Radio 4.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defunct
Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 5 Sep. 2025
San Francisco officials fought bitterly against Waymo and now-defunct Cruise robotaxis from General Motors, after their vehicles repeatedly blocked traffic and emergency vehicles, with Cruise the main perpetrator.
—Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2025
The shows officially start on the 11th, and Public School, yes, the formerly defunct label by Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, is hosting a supper club extravaganza.
—Vogue Runway, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2025
The book was shortlisted for a prize by the now-defunct Costa Book Awards and dramatized into a radio play for BBC Radio 4.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defunct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defunct
Adjective
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Rochín-Bañaga, who was not involved in the new research, has used the method to analyze ancient corals and belemnites, an extinct order of squidlike cephalopods.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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Paleoanthropologists have once again sparked a debate after suggesting that a long-extinct human relative may have buried its dead more than 120,000 years before modern humans started funerary practices.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That’s what the lesson here is for me, to treat others with respect and kindness, to honor the wishes of the fallen, and to have this dream of a better future.—
Leia Mendoza,
Variety,
13 Sep. 2025
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Members of the New York Yankees were given permission by MLB to wear FDNY and NYPD hats tonight, honoring the fallen first responders of 9/11.—
Aaliyan Mohammed,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There were flies in the kitchen and dead bugs in a utility sink.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
14 Sep. 2025
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Fine dead fuels throughout the fire area hit moistures of extinction while the heavy dead and down continued to smolder.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Troopers suspected Abrego Garcia was transporting undocumented immigrants since none of the passengers had identification or luggage, but he was only issued a warning for driving with an expired license.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
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Venezuelans with expired protections were fired from jobs, separated from children, detained by officers and even deported, lawyers for TPS holders said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Researchers from the Center for Whale Research, SeaDoc Society and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance confirmed the female calf was deceased, with its umbilical cord still attached when spotted in Rosario Strait near the San Juan Islands.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Prosecutors had tried pointing to two cases – the 1994 shooting of a van full of Hasidic yeshiva students on the Brooklyn Bridge, and the 1997 shooting from the observation deck of the Empire State Building – as terroristic acts that ended with just one deceased victim.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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By reprogramming ordinary cells—like skin fibroblasts—into stem cells, scientists hope to create eggs and sperm from individuals long gone.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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So many firsts, gone, charred to ash, just remnants of an area that once represented Black prosperity and joy.—
Maya Richard-Craven,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defunct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defunct. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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