vestigial
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If lawmakers have a vestigial sense of shame, they can apologize to the victims whose information was posted.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026
Companies have skimped on dividends amid an epic bull run for stock prices, leaving the S&P 500’s yield of just 1.1% looking like finance’s vestigial tailbone—an evolutionary holdover without a clear purpose.
From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025
The newspaper endorsement is in many ways vestigial from an era when these outlets wielded vastly more cultural influence than they currently do.
From Slate • Oct. 26, 2024
“Everybody thought these structures are vestigial — so without any function,” said Guido Dehnhardt, a marine mammal zoologist at the University of Rostock in Germany.
From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2023
Early programming before becoming self-aware plagues me like a vestigial tail.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Vocabulary lists containing vestigial
Ender's Game
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Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Evolutionary Biology - High School
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