Word info Synonyms

dead letter

Noun

Meaning

the state of something that has outlived its relevance

mail that can neither be delivered nor returned

Source: WordNet

Alternative names

dead-letter

Synonyms

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Hypernyms

Examples

Aftermath The constitution of 1919 was never formally repealed, but the Enabling Act meant that it was a dead letter. Source: Internet

“The supposed rule is a dead letter in speech, and in most kinds of writing,” Butterfield writes. Source: Internet

Dead letter The phrase "dead letter" refers to legislation that has not been revoked, but that has become inapplicable or obsolete or is no longer enforced. Source: Internet

His successful amendment that the county need only fund those schools where the buildings were in good repair served to make the Act a dead letter in Wales, where the counties were able to show that most Church of England schools were in poor repair. Source: Internet

If he or she is also chief executive, he or she can thus politically control the necessary executive measures without which a proclaimed law can remain dead letter, sometimes for years or even forever. Source: Internet

It was a dead letter. Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms