Make Your Point: DEFUNCT

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pronounce DEFUNCT:

duh FUNKT

connect this word to others:

The word defunct is related to function, functional, and p__funct___ ("done as a duty: done in a dull, bored, routine way").

They all ultimately trace back to the Latin fungi, meaning "to function, to perform a duty." Which, in case you were curious, appears to be unrelated to the mushroomy kind of fungi.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

You can trace the word "defunct" through French back to the Latin defunctus, meaning literally "off duty," and less literally, "dead;" and further back to fungi, "to function, to work, to perform a duty."

For hundreds of years in English, we've used "defunct" to mean "dead, or no longer in existence."

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "They stood outside a defunct department store."

Other forms:

The noun is "defunctness."

Other adjectives include "now-defunct" and "long-defunct." Feel free to invent your own! How about "newly-defunct" and "soon-to-be-defunct"?

how to use it:

The word "defunct" is harsh, cold, and formal. It's also pretty common and easy to understand.

Pick it when you want to sound flat, factual, and straightforward as you point out that something is no longer functioning.

You can call anything defunct If it used to live, operate, circulate, or serve people but doesn't anymore. For example, species are defunct when they die out. Devices and equipment are defunct when they no longer work. Stores, businesses, and publications are defunct when they quit operating. Laws are defunct when no one enforces them. Programs, agencies, and services are defunct when they have no funding. Industries, trends, genres, traditions, beliefs and so on are defunct when they're no longer relevant.

examples:

"Funding for the Freedmen's Bureau was slashed to such a degree that the agency became virtually defunct."
— Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, 2010

"Buffalo Bill 's
defunct
who used to
ride a watersmooth-silver
stallion"
— E. E. Cummings, "[Buffalo Bill 's,]" 1920

has this page helped you understand "defunct"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "defunct" without saying "no longer living" or "having faded into oblivion."

try it out:

If you've seen the movie Brave, you'll recall that it's about a princess, Merida, who rejects the idea of an arranged marriage.

Arranged marriages require "monarchical self-sacrifice," or marrying for the benefit of your nation instead of yourself. That's a virtue, though a defunct one, according to David Cox. In the Guardian, he writes:

"It's because Merida is a princess that she's asked to sacrifice a degree of autonomy for the benefit of others less fortunate than herself... Dynastic marriage, as so often, is a means of imposing harmony on potential chaos. Merida's fashionable insistence on self-realisation at all costs threatens to plunge her homeland into war."

Talk about what he means. Why does he call "monarchical self-sacrifice" a defunct virtue? Could you give an example of another virtue that's defunct in our world today?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for August is "Degrees of Venndom."

I'll give you a pair of terms, and you decide how Venn-diagrammable they are. It's harder than it sounds! To see my suggested answer, scroll all the way down. Your response doesn't need to match mine; you should just be able to defend yours.

Try this today: At what degree of Venndom do CHILDISH and CHILDLIKE exist?

4th degree: these terms never overlap, like DOG and CAT.

3rd degree: these terms are nested, with one term always the other but not vice versa, like KITTEN and CAT.

2nd degree: these terms sometimes overlap, like PET and MAMMAL.

1st degree: these terms always overlap, like CAT and FELINE.

review this word:

1. One opposite of DEFUNCT is

A. EXTANT: still living, still in existence.
B. FUNGIBLE: able to be traded or exchanged.
C. RIBALD: funny in a rude, slightly vulgar way.

2. A play about _____ is likely to take place in a defunct factory.

A. post-apocalyptic life
B. workers demanding fair pay
C. climbing the corporate ladder

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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