superannuate
/,sju:pə'rænjueit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (Transitive):
- To retire or pension (an employee) because of reaching a certain age or because of physical inability to continue working.
- To declare something (e.g., a system, method, or object) obsolete or out of date.
Verb (Intransitive):
- To become retired or ineligible for work due to old age or infirmity.
- To become obsolete or antiquated.
Usage and Examples
Transitive Verb (retire a person):
- The company policy is to superannuate employees at age 65.
- He was superannuated after his long illness made it impossible for him to perform his duties.
Transitive Verb (declare obsolete):
- The new software update will superannuate the previous version.
- The invention of the smartphone superannuated many standalone devices like MP3 players.
Intransitive Verb (become retired):
- After forty years of service, she will superannuate next month.
- Many workers in that industry superannuate early due to the physically demanding nature of the job.
Intransitive Verb (become obsolete):
- Traditional film cameras have largely superannuated in the digital age.
- That manufacturing technique is superannuating rapidly.
Advanced Usage and Notes
- The term is formal and is most commonly used in official, corporate, or institutional contexts, especially regarding retirement policies.
- When referring to objects or ideas, it implies a formal or decisive replacement by something newer and more effective, not just gradual fading from use.
Variants and Related Words
Superannuated (Adjective): Retired because of age or infirmity; obsolete or out-of-date.
- The office still uses a superannuated computer system.
- A superannuated professor emeritus.
Superannuation (Noun): The process of superannuating; a pension or retirement fund.
- He receives a monthly payment from his superannuation.
Synonyms
- Retire (for a person).
- Pension off (for a person).
- Obsolesce (for a thing, though rare as a verb).
- Outdate (for a thing).
- Decommission (for equipment or systems).
Antonyms
- Employ (for a person).
- Hire (for a person).
- Modernize (for a thing).
- Update (for a thing).
Related Phrases and Concepts
To be put out to pasture: An informal idiom meaning to be retired, often implying being made to stop work due to age.
- After the merger, several senior managers were put out to pasture.
To be phased out: A common phrase for something becoming obsolete and gradually discontinued.
- The old model is being phased out in favor of the new one.
Verb
- retire or become ineligible because of old age or infirmity
- become obsolete
- declare to be obsolete
- retire and pension (someone) because of age or physical inability