variants
also kaputt
1
as in doomed
facing certain defeat, disaster, or death
once the Germans were forced to retreat from Stalingrad, the Nazi cause was kaput
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in obsolete
having passed its time of use or usefulness
hard-line Soviet-style Communism became kaput in Russia
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order
the heating system went kaput on the coldest day of the year
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kaput
Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, seems adamant that the OG Yellowstone is kaput.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2024
Now all three of those competitors are kaput, felled by runs on deposits during the biggest banking crisis in a decade and a half.
—Rob Copeland, New York Times, 14 June 2023
The Stooges are now functionally kaput—of the original lineup, only Pop is left.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2019
At least not on Sunday afternoon, nearly a full two days after the Clippers were supposed to be done, finished, as kaput as the Kings – those in Sacramento and Los Angeles.
—Jeff Miller, Orange County Register, 29 Apr. 2017
The damages for that less-than-brilliant marketing idea could be as much as $120 million, meaning the company as a whole is pretty much financially kaput.
—Susan Arendt, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2007
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Dec. 2024
Now all three of those competitors are kaput, felled by runs on deposits during the biggest banking crisis in a decade and a half.
—Rob Copeland, New York Times, 14 June 2023
The Stooges are now functionally kaput—of the original lineup, only Pop is left.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2019
At least not on Sunday afternoon, nearly a full two days after the Clippers were supposed to be done, finished, as kaput as the Kings – those in Sacramento and Los Angeles.
—Jeff Miller, Orange County Register, 29 Apr. 2017
The damages for that less-than-brilliant marketing idea could be as much as $120 million, meaning the company as a whole is pretty much financially kaput.
—Susan Arendt, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2007
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kaput
Adjective
-
And these days, data decays (becomes obsolete) more quickly than ever, given the rapid pace of change in both business operations and consumer habits.—
Tomas Gorny,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
-
Anatole is a painter, an artform which photographer Lucien good-naturedly joshes him will soon be obsolete.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
27 May 2025
Adjective
-
Of course, fielding percentage is an archaic metric that modern baseball fans don’t bother with.—
Levi Weaver,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
-
After 2012, when Putin returned to the presidency, the Kremlin began tightening its grip on Russia’s elites, embracing an archaic militarism, and widening its repression of civil society.—
ANDREI YAKOVLEV,
Foreign Affairs,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Lukas Hradecky is the club’s current number one and captain, but had a down season compared to the year before.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
1 June 2025
-
Here are the best down comforters after months of testing.—
Rebecca Jones,
Southern Living,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to see the resurrection of the defunct Constitution gas pipeline project that would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to western New York.—
Christopher Helman,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
-
Only Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, Sauber (through all its guises), and the defunct operations of Lotus and Tyrrell remain ahead.—
Alex Kalinauckas,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
While the thrust levers were the final straw, other contributing factors included the lack of regulations prohibiting landings at Congonhas Airport with an inoperative thrust reverser, especially under heavy rain conditions.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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But India, citing national security concerns, has publicly provided little evidence linking the attack to Pakistan, which denies involvement and says that Lashkar-e-Taiba is largely inoperative.—
Zia ur-Rehman,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The sunk cost fallacy, for example, can lead companies to continue investing in maintaining a physical office space, despite the benefits of remote work.—
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky,
Forbes,
6 Feb. 2023
-
The sunk cost fallacy is a bias that behavioral economists say can cause a person to stick with a losing investment.—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi,
Discover Magazine,
22 Mar. 2022
Adjective
-
Baker said radio communications between the pilot and air traffic controllers indicated the pilot knew the weather system was inoperable.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 May 2025
-
Lights inside the three-door upright roller were inoperable.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
23 May 2025
Adjective
-
Examples include fights over landowner rights, rights of way, multi-jurisdictional traffic and noise restrictions, and even some endangered species and archaeological considerations.—
David Blackmon,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
-
Habitat destruction has been the most common threat to endangered species in the U.S. since 1975.—
Emma Marris,
The Atlantic,
25 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kaput.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kaput. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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