obsolete.
No longer in use or no longer useful; now disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer, better, or more fashionable); outmoded.
Meaning & usage
No longer in use or no longer useful; now disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer, better, or more fashionable); outmoded.
Speedy, worldwide, accessible delivery of news through the Web has made newspapers obsolete.
Horses became obsolete means of transportation in cities in the first half of the twentieth century.
Imperfectly developed; not very distinct.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁óp(i) Proto-Italic *op Latin ob Latin obs- Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *h₂oléyeti Proto-Italic *oleō Latin *oleō Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Italic *-skō Latin -sco Latin olēscere Latin obsolēscere Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin obsolētusbor. English obsolete Borrowed from Latin obsolētus (“worn out, gone out of use”), past participle of obsolēscere (“to wear out, fall into disuse, grow old, decay”); see obsolesce.
To cause to become obsolete.
This software component has been obsoleted.
We are in the process of obsoleting this product.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁óp(i) Proto-Italic *op Latin ob Latin obs- Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *h₂oléyeti Proto-Italic *oleō Latin *oleō Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Italic *-skō Latin -sco Latin olēscere Latin obsolēscere Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin obsolētusbor. English obsolete Borrowed from Latin obsolētus (“worn out, gone out of use”), past participle of obsolēscere (“to wear out, fall into disuse, grow old, decay”); see obsolesce.
An obsolete thing or person.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁óp(i) Proto-Italic *op Latin ob Latin obs- Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *h₂oléyeti Proto-Italic *oleō Latin *oleō Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Italic *-skō Latin -sco Latin olēscere Latin obsolēscere Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin obsolētusbor. English obsolete Borrowed from Latin obsolētus (“worn out, gone out of use”), past participle of obsolēscere (“to wear out, fall into disuse, grow old, decay”); see obsolesce.
Try it on your idea.
obsolete has 8 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.