DEFUNCT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does defunct mean? 

• DEFUNCT (adjective)
  The adjective DEFUNCT has 2 senses:

1. no longer in force or use; inactive

2. having ceased to exist or live

  Familiarity information: DEFUNCT used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEFUNCT (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

No longer in force or use; inactive

Context example:

a defunct organization

Similar:

inoperative (not working or taking effect)

Derivation:

defunctness (no longer in existence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having ceased to exist or live

Context example:

a defunct Indian tribe

Similar:

dead (no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life)

Derivation:

defunctness (no longer in existence)

 Context examples 

Scientists are monitoring a defunct Chinese space station that is expected to fall to Earth around the end of the month, the largest manmade object to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in a decade.

(Scientists Track Chinese Space Station as It Falls to Earth, VOA)

He is a deceased man—defunct in understanding.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock and from this position his distraught eyes stared down at Daisy who was sitting frightened but graceful on the edge of a stiff chair.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)