Meaning & use
vestigial
Remaining as a small, underdeveloped trace of something that had a purpose in an earlier form.
See it in a sentence
The appendix is often described as a vestigial organ with little clear function today.
Whales have vestigial hip bones left over from land-dwelling ancestors.
A note on using this word
Mainly used in biology for body parts, but can describe any leftover feature that has lost its original use.
Words with a similar meaning
rudimentary
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
functional
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