defunct
/dɪˈfʌŋkt/adjective, verb, noun
defunct is spelled D-E-F-U-N-C-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, defunct means “No longer in use or active, nor expected to be again” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in defunct?
| Letters | 7: D-E-F-U-N-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,101st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is defunct?
Defunct appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defunct?
- US /dɪˈfʌŋkt/
- US /ˌdiˈfʌŋkt/
Defunct has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-defunct.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of defunct
- more defunct comparative
- most defunct superlative
- defuncts present, singular, he/she/it
- defuncting participle, present
- defuncted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defunct mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
No longer in use or active, nor expected to be again.
- 2
No longer in business or service, nor expected to be again; out of business.
- 3
Specifically, of a process: having terminated but not having been reaped (by its parent or an inheritor), and thus still occupying a process slot. See also zombie, zombie process.
- 4
(of a language) No longer spoken.
- 5
archaicDeceased, dead.
verb
- 1
To make defunct.
noun
- 1
The dead person (referred to).
[…] he saw Robert Johnston, pannel, come out of the cott-house with the fork in his hand, and pass by Alexander Fall and the deponent; heard the pannell say, he had sticked the dog, and he would stick the whelps too; whereupon the pannell r
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defunct in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | erloschen, gelöscht, nicht mehr existierend, tot , gestorben, verstorben |
| Portuguese | inativo , defunto |
| French | défunt |
| Spanish | difunto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does defunct come from?
Borrowed from Latin dēfunctus, past participle of dēfungor (“to finish, discharge”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).