Deprecated Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How to Use It

You may have heard the word deprecated, but do you know what it means? Read on for our complete guide on the meaning of deprecated.

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If you’re anything like us, you enjoy discovering new terms. Although we find many words interesting, our word of the day is “deprecated.” What does this term mean, and where did it come from? We’ll tell you. 

Read on to get the scoop on the word deprecated. By the end of this post, you should better understand what deprecated means and even feel comfortable using it in a sentence.

If you’re ready to enhance your overall vocabulary by learning a new word — keep reading! 

What Is the Definition of the Word Deprecated?

When learning a new word, it can be especially helpful to review several definitions instead of just one before deciding what it means. To begin our journey in understanding the word deprecated, we’ve gathered a few definitions from three trusted dictionaries for you to check out below:

  • The Cambridge Dictionary says the verb deprecate means not approving of something or saying that you do not approve of something.  
  • When used as a noun, Dictionary.com defines deprecation as the act or process of expressing earnest disapproval. 

After reviewing the above definitions, we can conclude that deprecation is expressing disapproval of something or belittling someone. 

Although this is our word of the day’s most well-known definition, it should be noted that when used in the IT industry, deprecated has another meaning.

Not to be confused with depreciation — the monetary devaluation of goods over time — deprecation is a common computer term primarily used in software engineering and programming to indicate that the use of a certain software feature or programming language feature has been superseded.

What Are Translations of Deprecated?

If you have your passport in hand and are curious about how to properly use the word “deprecated” during your travels, boy, do we have you covered! Below you will find a list of translations in various languages around the world for the word deprecated:

  • Catalan — disapproval‎
  • Chinese — 弃用
  • Macedonian — заостанато
  • Korean — 더 이상 사용되지 않는
  • Irish — neamhchláraithe
  • Greek — apórripsi
  • Portuguese — desaprovado‎, desfavorecido‎, obsoleto‎, or descontinuado‎ 
  • German — veraltet‎, obsolet‎ or überholt‎
  • Dutch — afgekeurd‎ or verouderd‎

What Are the Synonyms and Antonyms of Deprecated?

To help you further grasp the meaning behind deprecated, we completed a list of similar words and words that hold an opposite meaning to the word of the day — deprecated. 

Reference these word lists from Power Thesaurus to learn both synonyms and antonyms of deprecated.

Synonyms

  • Tutted about
  • Deplore
  • Abhor
  • Take exception to
  • Detest
  • Written off
  • Vilipend
  • Taken down
  • Disparage
  • Scorn
  • Poor mouthed
  • Aspersion
  • Devalue
  • Belittle
  • Despise
  • Take a dim view of
  • Depreciate
  • Trash talked
  • Undervalue
  • Animadverted on
  • Derogate
  • Thought little of
  • Not gone for
  • Badmouth
  • Detract
  • Cut down to size
  • Disesteem
  • Slagged off
  • Denigration
  • Object
  • Pulled to pieces
  • Wrote off
  • Frown
  • Vituperate against
  • Disfavor
  • Scoffed at
  • Ridicule

Antonyms

  • Gushed over
  • Approve
  • Spoke highly of
  • Acclaim
  • Face it
  • Rhapsodize about
  • Esteem
  • Praised to the skies
  • Commend
  • Increase
  • Du jor
  • Approbate
  • Paid homage to
  • Appreciate
  • Gone on about
  • Countenance
  • Be big on
  • Applaud
  • Put on a pedestal
  • Boost
  • Modern-day
  • New fashioned
  • State of the art 
  • Fortify
  • Hype
  • Exaggerated the worth of
  • Heighten

Origin of Deprecate

The origin of the verb deprecated dates back to the 1620s — defined here as deliverance from or to pray against. Deriving from Latin deprecatus, the past participle of deprecari

Deprecari (meaning to pray away) was formed from de– (away) and precari (to pray). It was not until a touch later in the 1640s that deprecated was used to mean “urge against,” or “to express disapproval.”

Examples of Deprecated in a Sentence

Since we have covered just about everything there is to know about the word deprecated, why don’t we shift our attention to how to properly use our word of the day in a sentence. Quiz yourself to see how many unique sentences you can come up with using the word deprecated. 

A little unsure, or just love learning? Check out these examples we have listed below:

Some may very well deprecate it, but clearly, they do not see its potential here.

After the most recent redesign of our app, all of the deprecated APIs have been removed.

I hope Sandy could get the list of the deprecated methods and components I left on her desk yesterday.

I hope some form of backward compatibility is offered for Android even if the iOs Cortana apps are rapidly being deprecated.

Are you aware that as programmers, we only have a limited amount of time to rectify all deprecated functions on top of all of the deprecated features?

Bottom Line

In short, to deprecate something means to diminish something or show disapproval of something or someone. Essentially if you hear someone was deprecated, it is safe to assume that person was made to feel unimportant and was shown an utter lack of disrespect.

Source:

  1. Deprecate synonyms Words and Phrases for Deprecate | Power Thesaurus
  2. Deprecated | definition | The Cambridge English Dictionary
  3. English Dictionary Definition Deprecate | Collins Dictionary 
  4. Deprecate Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com