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Dead Letter (Noun)

The state of something that has outlived its relevance.

Nouns denoting natural processes.

The traditional video rental store had become a dead letter with the rise of online streaming services.
Encyclopedias on CDs have largely become dead letters with the increasing reliance on internet resources.
His expertise on ancient software languages now renders his degree as somewhat of a dead letter in modern computing.
Manufacturers producing dot matrix printers, whose obsolescence became marked some two decades prior, clearly witnessed it reduce them into the figurative example of the technological term – 'a dead letter.'
Companies, a product supplier insisted during sales that digital coupons replace standard discounts proving further sign given issued over period sign they 'held back they needed cutting just showing finally such really those promotional campaigns reduced something quite what over we basically one clearly always often kept: them only today; standard (neg name), has pretty much turned his practice a 'dead letter' through paper.

Mail that can neither be delivered nor returned.

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.

The post office has a special department to handle dead letters that cannot be delivered or returned to the sender.
A dead letter is typically stored for a certain period before being destroyed if the intended recipient cannot be located.
The postal service has implemented various methods to reduce the number of dead letters, including address verification systems.
In some countries, dead letters are auctioned off to raise funds for charity or other causes.
The term dead letter originated in the 17th century to describe mail that was undeliverable due to incorrect or missing addresses.