The Defunct command removes elements from active use in your workspace. That is, for each element you specify, it:
Operating system commands won't find a defunct element (because it really is gone from the workspace tree), but the File Browser can see the element in your workspace stream, where it is both
(defunct) and a
(member).
Defunct does not remove an element from the depot altogether (no operation removes an element altogether -- that would violate AccuRev's TimeSafe property). And it does not make an element disappear for all users.
Defunct just removes an element from a particular workspace. The element remains visible in other streams and workspaces -- at least until you Promote it.
The Defunct dialog appears, prompting you to confirm your intention to remove the element(s).

If any of the elements you specify is a directory, Defunct works recursively: it removes the directory itself and elements under that directory. Only the specified directory itself becomes
(defunct); the objects below it are simply removed from the workspace tree, but do not become
(defunct) in the workspace stream.
After Defunct'ing an element, you use
Promote to propagate its removal to your workspace's
backing stream. The element won't appear in a File Browser that is open on your workspace, but it will appear, with
(defunct) status, in a File Browser that is open on the backing stream.
You can usually recover the backed version of the (defunct) element by invoking the
Revert to Backed command on it. However, if either of the following conditions apply, the correct way to recover the version is to invoke the
accurev undefunct command from the CLI.
When a user in a sibling workspaces performs an
Update, the element will disappear from that workspace.
With each successive promotion up the stream hierarchy, a defunct element disappears from the source ("promote from") stream, and becomes
active, with
(defunct) status, in the destination ("promote to") stream.
AccuRev's TimeSafe property means that you cannot change the past. This means that a defunct element remains in old
snapshots of streams. You can always get information about the element (if you know which stream it still exists in) using the
History Browser.