1
Core quality
No longer existing, operating, active, or functioning.
Example
The archive occupies the offices of a defunct newspaper.
defunct
/dɪˈfʌŋkt/ · dih-FUNKTadjective
No longer existing, operating, active, or functioning.
Use defunct to express this relationship precisely: no longer existing, operating, active, or functioning.
What defunct Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
The defunct railway line became a walking path.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
Several rules refer to agencies that are now defunct.
Use defunct Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The archive occupies the offices of a defunct newspaper.
The defunct railway line became a walking path.
Several rules refer to agencies that are now defunct.
Precision Matters
Defunct overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
defunct
vs.Means no longer existing, operating, active, or functioning.
perpetuate
Means cause a condition, practice, belief, or problem to continue indefinitely.
defunct
vs.Means no longer existing, operating, active, or functioning.
vigor
Means physical or mental strength, energy, vitality, and forcefulness.
defunct
vs.Means no longer existing, operating, active, or functioning.
prominent
Means important, well known, or readily noticeable because it stands out.
defunct
vs.Means no longer existing, operating, active, or functioning.
archaic
Means extremely old-fashioned or belonging to an earlier historical period and no longer in ordinary use.
Test defunct in Context
The organization no longer exists or operates.
1
The website belonged to a ___ organization that had closed ten years earlier.