disuse
disuse Lexical Profile
disuse Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The state of no longer being used, practiced, or observed; neglect or abandonment of a custom, object, or facility.
"Several rural railway stations fell into disuse after the regional bus network was expanded."
• verb
To cease to use, practice, or employ something (now rare except in the past participle 'disused').
"Over the centuries, speakers gradually began to disuse the archaic grammatical inflections."
Word Nuance & Usage
Notice the pronunciation difference between the parts of speech: the noun 'disuse' ends with a voiceless 's' sound (/dɪsˈjuːs/), whereas the rarer verb 'disuse' ends with a voiced 'z' sound (/dɪsˈjuːz/). As a noun, it occurs most commonly in the idiomatic phrase 'fall into disuse'.
• Rhymes for disuse
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 14th century from Anglo-French and Old French 'desuser' (to cease to use), formed from the prefix 'des-' (away, not) and 'user' (to use), ultimately from Latin 'usus'.