Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Doomed to extinction; having failed or been terminated: The primary meaning describes something or someone that is finished, no longer successful, or past their prime, often implying a decline from a previous state of relevance or popularity.
   • Tired or exhausted: Can also describe a state of being physically or emotionally drained.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • After his third failed business, he felt completely washed-up. (This describes a person whose period of success is perceived to be over.)
  • That singer's career is washed-up; she hasn't had a hit in ten years. (This describes a career that is no longer viable.)
  • By the end of the 12-hour shift, the nurses were washed-up. (This uses the secondary meaning of being extremely tired.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a connotation of finality and public perception. It is frequently used in contexts like entertainment, sports, or business to describe a dramatic fall from grace.
• It can be used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like 'is' or 'felt').
  • Attributive: He was considered a washed-up actor.
  • Predicative: The trend is completely washed-up.

Variants and Related Words

• Wash up (phrasal verb): Literally, to clean oneself or dishes. Figuratively, to arrive or end up somewhere, often by chance. /
• Has-been (noun): A person who is no longer famous or successful. This is a close synonym when used as a noun label for a person.

Synonyms

• Finished: No longer effective or successful.
• Obsolete: No longer produced or used; out of date.
• Done for: In a hopeless situation; doomed.
• Exhausted: Drained of strength or energy. (For the secondary meaning.)

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Wash out: To fail to complete or to be removed from a course or activity due to failure. (Note: This is related in concept of failure but is a distinct phrasal verb.)

Related Idioms

• Past one's prime: Having lost the abilities or qualities one had at one's best period. This is a more formal or gentle way to express a similar idea as "washed-up."
• On the skids: In a state of decline or failure.

Adjective

1. doomed to extinction