Dictionary

passé en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /pæˈseɪ/ (General-American)
• /ˈpæ.seɪ/ (UK)

Etymology

From French passé (“passed”, past participle of passer (“to pass”)).

Meanings

1. (colloquial) Dated; out of style; old-fashioned.
   • It is perhaps inevitable that a movement that was the height of fashion in the last decade would start to seem passé in this one. That’s how style works; the young and innovative distinguish themselves by breaking with the conventions of their predecessors. 2022 June 17, Michelle Goldberg, “The Future Isn’t Female Anymore”, in The New York Times:
   • Then, like side fringes, Smirnoff Ice and tights under denim shorts, smoking was suddenly passé – distasteful, even gross. 2023 June 16, Daisy Jones, “Cool, sexy and stinking of smoke: why are TV dramas giving cigarettes a comeback?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • We'll paint the town blue 'cause, baby, red is so passé. 2007, “Turn On Billie”, performed by The Pierces:
   • Mary felt annoyed at the girl; just because bras had become passé, did a girl with so pronounced a bosom have to cater to fashion? In this case practicality dictated a bra, and Mary stood at the desk feeling herself flushing with disapproval. 1964, Philip K. Dick, “FOUR”, in Clans of the Alphane Moon, United States: Ace Books, →OCLC; republished London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1996, →ISBN, page 27:
   • I never thought you'd be a junkie, because heroin is so passé. 1997, Courtney Taylor-Taylor, “Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth”, performed by The Dandy Warhols:
2. Past one's prime; worn; faded.
   • The coaching stock is in general in a very passé condition, but the ex-royal saloon, though needing a coat of paint outside, as another photograph shows, is spotless inside. 1939 November, “Pertinent Paragraphs: The Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Light Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 357:

Forms

Synonyms

worn-out · disused · outdated · unfashionable · raddled (past one's prime) · wasted · outworn

Translations (10)

de veraltet; altmodisch (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · bg отживял (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · cs passé (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · pl nie na czasie (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · pl passé (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · bg старомоден (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · ru старомо́дный (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · cs odbytý (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · sv passé (dated; out of style; old-fashioned) · cs minulý (dated; out of style; old-fashioned)

passé en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /pæˈseɪ/ (General-American)
• /ˈpæ.seɪ/ (UK)

Etymology

From French passé (“passed”, past participle of passer (“to pass”)).

Meanings

1. An attack that passes the target without hitting.

Forms