Standard Lemma guide

obsolescence

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɒb.səˈlɛs.əns/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Atlantic-Canada, General-American: /ˌɑb.səˈlɛs.əns/
  • Canada, dialectal: /ˌɒb.səˈlɛs.əns/ of the US
  • Australian: /ˌɔb.səˈles.əns/
  • New-Zealand: /ˌɒb.səˈles.əns/
  • New-Zealand: [ˌɔ̟b.səˈles.əns]
  • rhymes with -ɛsəns
  • CMU ARPABET: AA2 B S AH0 L EH1 S AH0 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being obsolete—no longer in use; gone into disuse; disused or neglected.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: desuetude, obsoleteness, obsoletion

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The process of becoming obsolete, outmoded or out of date.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the process of becoming obsolete; falling into disuse or becoming out of date

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a policy of planned obsolescence

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: degeneration, devolution

History

Etymology

From Latin obsolēscēns present participle of obsolēscere.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Basque: zaharkitzapen — state
  • Catalan: obsolescència — state
  • Danish: forældelse — state
  • Finnish: vanhentuneisuus — state
  • French: obsolescence — state
  • French: désuétude — state
  • German: Obsoleszenz — state
  • German: Veraltetsein — state
  • Hungarian: elavultság — state
  • Indonesian: keusangan — state
  • Italian: obsolescenza — state
  • Polish: starzenie się — state
  • Portuguese: obsolescência — state
  • Spanish: obsolescencia — state
  • Swedish: föraldring — state
  • Bulgarian: отпадане от употреба (otpadane ot upotreba) — process
  • Finnish: vanheneminen — process
  • Finnish: vanhentuminen — process
  • Hungarian: elavulás — process
  • Polish: starzenie się — process