obsolescence
Falling into disuse
Obsolescence is the process of becoming outdated or falling out of use.
Products reach obsolescence when newer versions replace them: The phone was heading toward obsolescence within two years of its release.
Planned obsolescence describes deliberate design choices that shorten a product's useful life, encouraging replacement.
The adjective is obsolescent—actively becoming obsolete but not quite there yet.
Quality from past eras
- antiqueOld valued collectible
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
- datedOld-fashioned or courted
- bygoneOf earlier times
old-fashioned · outmoded · passé · relic · historic · heritage · time-worn · ancient
No longer existing
- endangeredAt risk of extinction
- moribundNear death, failing
- dyingCeasing to live
- revitalizationRestoring vigor or vitality
What takes another's place
- surpassedWent past or beyond
- eclipsedSurpassed or obscured
- overtakenPassed while moving
- displacedShifted from proper location
deprecated · succeeded · outstripped · dethroned · usurped · leapfrogged · supplanted · outpaced
Process of declining quality
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- degradationDecline in condition
- atrophyWasting from disuse
- waningGradually decreasing in intensity
fading · erosion · crumbling · depreciation · entropy · corrosion · rusting · breakdown
Act of leaving permanently
- dormancySuspended biological activity
- neglectFailure to provide care
- desuetudeProlonged disuse
- discontinuationFormal ending of something
mothballing · shelving · retirement · idleness · dusty · forgotten · lapsed · unused
Relegation to powerless periphery
- sidelinedRemoved from participation
- overlookedNot noticed or considered
- forgottenNo longer recalled
- disregardedNot given consideration
peripheral · superfluous · redundant · expendable · vestigial · anachronistic · outgrown · immaterial
What's passed down
- deprecatedFormally advised against using
- sunsettingPlanned gradual discontinuation
- end-of-lifeNearing death phase
- abandonwareUnsupported, discontinued programs
unsupported · incompatible · firmware · hardware · discontinued · patches
vintage
Quality from past eras
bygone · old-fashioned · outmoded · passé · relic · historic · heritage · time-worn · ancient · yesteryear
extinct
No longer existing
- endangeredAt risk of extinction
- moribundNear death, failing
- dyingCeasing to live
replacement
What takes another's place
displaced · deprecated · succeeded · outstripped · dethroned · usurped · leapfrogged · supplanted · outpaced · upgraded
deterioration
Process of declining quality
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- degradationDecline in condition
- atrophyWasting from disuse
waning · fading · erosion · crumbling · depreciation · entropy · corrosion · rusting · breakdown · dilapidation
abandonment
Act of leaving permanently
discontinuation · mothballing · shelving · retirement · idleness · dusty · forgotten · lapsed · unused · discarded
marginalization
Relegation to powerless periphery
- sidelinedRemoved from participation
- overlookedNot noticed or considered
- forgottenNo longer recalled
disregarded · peripheral · superfluous · redundant · expendable · vestigial · anachronistic · outgrown · immaterial · passé
legacy
What's passed down
- deprecatedFormally advised against using
- sunsettingPlanned gradual discontinuation
- end-of-lifeNearing death phase
abandonware · unsupported · incompatible · firmware · hardware · discontinued · patches
- digital societysocial networks, internet, digital age, internet culture, digital natives
- outdatedoutdated, out of date, dated, outmoded, archaic
- inevitabilitiesdeath, mortality, taxes, fate, destiny
- business risksmarket risk, competition, data breach, cyberattack, recession
- business threatscompetition, substitutes, price wars, market saturation, brand damage
- lifecyclelifecycle, lifespan, use, operation, repair
obsolescencerelevance
State of mattering here
currency · timeliness · contemporaneity · modernity · currentness
obsolescenceutility
Functional worth or purpose
usefulness · employment · functionality · viability · serviceability
obsolescenceemergence
Coming into existence
innovation · inception · introduction · ascendancy · revival
- planned obsolescenceDeliberately shortened product lifespan
- built-in obsolescenceIntentional design for failure
- programmed obsolescenceIntentional limited product lifespan