What does obsolesce mean?
To obsolesce means to become obsolete, usually because newer technology or a more advanced alternative has made something outdated or unnecessary. The verb can describe the decline of a product, system, practice, or method, as when older mobile phones became obsolete after smartphones introduced touchscreens, apps, and internet access. It can also be used transitively, meaning that a new development makes an older technology obsolete. The word is especially associated with technology and industrial change, but it can apply more broadly to ideas, skills, institutions, or customs displaced by superior alternatives. Its wording conveys a process rather than a static condition: “obsolete” describes what no longer has a contemporary role, while “obsolesce” describes the transition into that state. Although understandable, “obsolesce” is more formal than everyday expressions such as “become outdated,” “fall out of use,” or “be replaced.”
To become obsolete or outdated, especially because a newer or more effective alternative has appeared.
"Traditional fax machines obsolesced rapidly after multifunction printers and email became widely available."
Common in technical and formal contexts, particularly when describing technologies or systems.
To make something obsolete by replacing or superseding it.
"Cloud-based tools may obsolesce the need for specialized local software."
This transitive use is especially common in technology and infrastructure discussions.
Obsolesce captures a distinctly modern kind of obsolescence: technology can become outdated not merely through age, but through a single leap forward.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does obsolesce come from?
Obsolesce comes from the Latin verb obsolescere, meaning “to become old” or “to grow obsolete.” It is cognate with obsolete, which developed from Latin obsoletus, meaning “old, worn out, or no longer used,” and with obsolescent, which retains the sense of becoming outdated. The English verb preserves the Latin emphasis on a gradual or inevitable process of decline.
Related word forms
How obsolesce is actually used
The verb is formal and technical, and is especially common in discussions of technology, infrastructure, and systems. In general usage, “become obsolete” or “become outdated” is more accessible.
Easily confused with obsolesce
“Obsolete” is an adjective describing something no longer used or current, whereas “obsolesce” is a verb describing the process of becoming obsolete.
“Obsolescent” describes something in the process of becoming obsolete, while “obsolesce” names that process as a verb.