obsolescence
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of obsolescence
First recorded in 1820–30; obsolesc(ent) + -ence
Explanation
Fashion trends come and go, and often return after a time. But gimmicky fads quickly fall into obsolescence, losing appeal and falling out of sight — do you know anyone who still has a pet rock? The word obsolescence is the noun form of the more common obsolete, meaning "something no longer used." Both words stem from the Latin obsolēscere, which means, logically enough, "to fall into disuse." Your phone or your car may be designed for obsolescence, meaning they are meant to stop working or go out of style so you'll buy a newer model. More amusingly, TV personality Art Linkletter once commented, "The four stages of man are infancy, childhood, adolescence, and obsolescence.”
Vocabulary lists containing obsolescence
Power Suffix: -escence
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Witness his Federal Communications Commission, a recent case study in obsolescence run amok.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Acme is essentially running our society, too, crushing consumers with shrinkflation, planned obsolescence and help lines staffed by AI bots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
And Rob Robotti shared three “HALO” stocks — which stands for hard assets, low obsolescence — that he expects to perform well during the AI build-out.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Reports of the book’s obsolescence were already exaggerated.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
America, of all the Western nations, has been best placed to prove the uselessness and the obsolescence of the concept of color.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
