Janet Flanner
R. L. Stevenson
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The Origin of Dilapidate
Something that is dilapidated may not have been literally pummeled with stones, but it might look that way. Dilapidate derives from the past participle of the Latin verb dilapidare, meaning "to squander or destroy." That verb was formed by combining "dis-" with another verb, lapidare, meaning "to pelt with stones." From there it's just a stone's throw to some other English relatives of "dilapidate." You might, for example, notice a resemblance between "lapidare" and our word for a person who cuts or polishes precious stones, "lapidary." That's because both words share as a root the Latin noun lapis, meaning "stone." We also find "lapis" in the name "lapis lazuli," a bright blue semiprecious stone.
Examples of dilapidate in a Sentence
Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2023
Only about 70 of the calvary camp’s original 700 buildings remain and are dilapidated ghostly shadows of their once important past.
—Diane Bell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2023
At the center of the woods, off Haven Beach Road, was a solitary and dilapidated Colonial homestead that burned to the ground.
—Bree Sposato, Travel + Leisure, 28 Apr. 2023
Hamdok found that the legacy of 30 years of dictatorship meant that Sudan’s political and economic models were dilapidated.
—Justin Lynch, CNN, 17 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for dilapidate
Cite this Entry
“Dilapidate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dilapidate. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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