Definition
Obsolete things did not break; the world simply walked past them. The fax machine still faxes, the floppy disk still stores — there is just no one left who needs them to. The word marks the saddest kind of retirement: displacement without failure. Technology becomes obsolete, words become obsolete, skills become obsolete — and the speed at which it happens is itself a favorite subject of exam essays.
Examples
- Smartphones made dozens of separate devices obsolete almost overnight.
- The dictionary labels the word as obsolete, though it survives in old legal texts.
- Workers worry that automation will render their skills obsolete.
Synonyms
outdated · outmoded · superseded · antiquated · defunct
In TOEFL & IELTS
High frequency in TOEFL and IELTS reading on technology and language change. The killer collocation is 'render something obsolete' — exam writers love it, and so should your essays ('new technologies risk rendering traditional skills obsolete'). Compare 'obsolescent' (becoming obsolete) and the marketing term 'planned obsolescence'.