as in relic
one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity
now a has-been, the actor's been reduced to appearing on a third-rate reality show
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Recent Examples of has-been
Ken Blake Brea Sorry to see Jerry Neuheisel leave UCLA to join traitor and coaching has-been Chip Kelly at Northwestern.
—
Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2026
All this success begs the legitimate question of how the once-struggling reality show for has-been celebrities reinvented itself and became a pop-cultural phenomenon that any public figure would be lucky to utilize as their re-introduction into the zeitgeist.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
In other words, the vainly hopeful Larry is about to endure twin humiliations, leaving him feeling bumped out of his life and into the past—a has-been, instantly old.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2025
DiCaprio makes a great, vital has-been, squinting at the horrors around him in disbelief, but mostly, driven by the need to protect his child.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
And as alcoholic has-been Morris, Matthau was fantastically slovenly and cynical, an anti–role model for the ages.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Los Angeles Times, 3 Jan. 2026
All this success begs the legitimate question of how the once-struggling reality show for has-been celebrities reinvented itself and became a pop-cultural phenomenon that any public figure would be lucky to utilize as their re-introduction into the zeitgeist.
—Mckinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Nov. 2025
In other words, the vainly hopeful Larry is about to endure twin humiliations, leaving him feeling bumped out of his life and into the past—a has-been, instantly old.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2025
DiCaprio makes a great, vital has-been, squinting at the horrors around him in disbelief, but mostly, driven by the need to protect his child.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
And as alcoholic has-been Morris, Matthau was fantastically slovenly and cynical, an anti–role model for the ages.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 25 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for has-been
Noun
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If Multiverse of Madness was Raimi attempting to get weird in an era where superhero movies were too big, important, and established, Darkman is a relic of a time before there were really any sorts of expectations for the genre.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2026
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If these reflections leave you feeling content and connected, then your relationship likely still has a beating heart—and isn’t just a relic of a time long ago.—
Gabrielle Kassel,
SELF,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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An article in The Conversation described how some dinosaurs walked on sandy, inter-tidal channel bars, while the feet of others sank into soft mud forming the bed of the channel.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Feb. 2026
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The Blueprint is a dinosaur from a different era.—
Chris Roemer,
Baltimore Sun,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Has-been.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/has-been. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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