obsolete
/ˈɑbsəlit/adjective, verb, noun
obsolete is spelled O-B-S-O-L-E-T-E. The wrong spelling people search most is obselete: about 450 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 12 of all searches for the word. Obsolete is an adjective meaning “No longer in use or no longer useful; now disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer, better…”.
How many letters and syllables are in obsolete?
| Letters | 8: O-B-S-O-L-E-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.5 times per million words; the 12,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, obselete, about 450 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell obsolete?
Obsolete is spelled O-B-S-O-L-E-T-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 12 of the searches for obsolete in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is obsolete?
Obsolete appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th 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 obsolete?
- UK /ˈɒbsəliːt/
- US /ˈɑbsəlit/
- US /ɑbsəˈlit/
Obsolete has 3 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: En-us-obsolete.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of obsolete
- more obsolete comparative
- most obsolete superlative
- obsoletes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- obsoleting participle, present
- obsoleted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obsolete mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
No longer in use or no longer useful; now disused or neglected (often in favour of something newer, better, or more fashionable); outmoded.
Speedy, worldwide, accessible delivery of news through the Web has made newspapers obsolete.
- 2
Imperfectly developed; not very distinct.
verb
- 1
To cause to become obsolete.
This software component has been obsoleted.
noun
- 1
An obsolete thing or person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate obsolete?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of obsolete: obs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obsolete in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | obsolète |
| German | veraltet, obsolet, antiquiert, alt , atroph , abnutzen |
| Portuguese | obsoleto |
| Spanish | obsoleto, desusado |
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.