Skip to main content
passé

passé

9 8.8
No longer fashionable compared with modern styles
  • adjective
  • /pæˈseɪ/
translation icon : pasado de moda
  • Besides, I said, light as a subject for contemporary paintings is passé.
  • become passé
  • somewhat passé
  • now passé

Examples

  • They think of us as a passé, archaic institution.

  • The Old Liberal view that, on balance, the United States was a great nation was now passé.

    Academic text (2002)
  • What is passé now will be the fashion in maybe fifty years.

  • Themed events can seem passé, but if done well, they provide your guests with a guide.

    Blog text (16)
  • In France, I consider a devoted attachment to the French Revolution to be rather passé.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Of course, the assumption of a binary position on gender issues is somewhat passé.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Don't you think that family rivalries are a little passé?

  • Opera is so passé.

  • Shoulder pads are passé.

  • Many people believe that using flip phones is now passé in today's smartphone era.

Synonyms

old-fashioned
vspassé
149 4.7

Not in style, like clothes or ideas from an earlier time

is used more widely for fashion and current acceptability
obsolete
vspassé
93 5.8

No longer used or made because something newer replaces it

is more about fashion and current taste than production status
outdated
vspassé
78 5.0

No longer useful or fashionable because it is old

focuses more on fashionability than on practical usefulness
out-of-date
vspassé
34 4.4

No longer current or in use

stresses being unfashionable rather than formal invalidity
archaic
vspassé
34 9.9

Very old and not used in everyday life

is used more for recent fashions that have gone out of style
antiquated
vspassé
32 8.2

Very old and not useful or suitable now

can apply to things that are simply unfashionable without extreme age
outmoded
vspassé
11 6.5

No longer fashionable or useful

is the general expression for being unfashionable or old
antique
vspassé
9 7.5

Old-fashioned and not modern

is broader, applying to fashionability as well as old appearance
dated
vspassé
3 6.2

Not modern and looking old-fashioned

covers the same idea but emphasizes general lack of currency
old-hat
vspassé
  • Informal
1 6.8

No longer new or fashionable

is a straightforward term for being unfashionable or old
obsolescent
vspassé
1 8.4

Gradually becoming out of date and not used much

is the immediate state of being unfashionable rather than a process
superannuated
vspassé
  • UK
1 9.9

Old and no longer useful because of age

focuses specifically on lack of fashion rather than functional retirement
demode
vspassé
  • Archaic
9.9

No longer in fashion and looking old

is used for things no longer fashionable or in regular use
passe
vspassé
8.4

No longer fashionable or modern

is the broader label for being unfashionable or out of use
moss-grown
vspassé
  • Offensive
9.9

Old and out of date in ideas, opinions, or ways

is neutral and simply indicates lack of current fashion

Antonyms

85 2.6

Popular now because it follows the current style

64 3.1

Very fashionable and popular now

How Old-Fashioned

archaic
34 9.9
obsolete
93 5.8
outdated
78 5.0
passé
9 8.8
old-fashioned
149 4.7

Surface Forms

passé positive
passé comparative
passé superlative

Etymology

Passé comes from the French verb passer 'to pass' and originally means 'passed' or 'past'. So if something has 'passed' its time it is out of fashion now, which is why passé means 'no longer fashionable'.