míng
cún
shí
wáng

idiom

Meaning of 名存实亡

名存实亡 means exist in name only; cease to exist in practice; a hollow shell. Pronounced míng cún shí wáng.

  • exist in name only; cease to exist in practice; a hollow shell

Definitions & Examples

Zhè
jiā
gōng
zǎo
zhài
 
xiàn
zài
jiù
shì
míng
cún
shí
wáng
de
kōng
 

This company has long been insolvent; now it's just an empty shell that exists in name only.

Tiáo
yuē
qiān
dìng
hòu
rén
zūn
shǒu
 
shí
shàng
jīng
míng
cún
shí
wáng
le
 

After the treaty was signed, no one abided by it; in practice, it has already ceased to exist.

Zhè
wěi
yuán
huì
duō
nián
méi
yǒu
zhào
kāi
huì
 
zǎo
míng
cún
shí
wáng
 

This committee hasn't convened a meeting for years; it has long been nominal.

Jīng
guò
wēi
 
men
zhī
jiān
de
zuò
guān
shì
míng
cún
shí
wáng
 

After that crisis, the cooperative relationship between them became nothing more than a name.