rhizoverbBeta
DictionarydefunctNo longer active
adjective

defunct

dih-FUNKT/dɪˈfʌŋkt/

No longer existing or operating.

The defunct gas station has boarded windows and pumps with missing hoses.

A permanently abandoned roadside fuel station: two obsolete pumps with missing hoses stand before a boarded-up kiosk, with weeds breaking through the cracked forecourt.
Etymology
deLatinoff, completely
+functLatinperform or discharge a duty

The pieces express finishing or completely discharging a duty. Latin defunctus meant “dead,” literally “off-duty”; English extends that finality to things that no longer exist, operate, or remain in use.

In context

Sunset Video Rentals0:06
The studio is now defunct, but the legacy of movies left behind from this label
The Forgotten Legacy of Touchstone Pictures: The 1980s (FULL SERIES)

More examples

  • The defunct company’s records went to the archive.
  • That rule has been defunct for decades.
  • We found an old advertisement for a defunct airline.

Forms

defunct

Similar words

obsolete
Obsolete is out of date; defunct has stopped operating or existing.
extinct
Extinct has died out entirely; defunct commonly describes organizations or systems no longer functioning.