dilapidate

verb

Definition of dilapidatenext
as in to putrefy

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dilapidate 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 The initial goal was to repair and renovate it; however, this proved to be impossible as the original structure was too dilapidated. — Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 28 Mar. 2023 The towers would replace a four-acre debris heap where the famed but dilapidated Deauville Beach Resort from the 1950s sat until courts ordered it to be imploded. — Mark Bisnow, Fortune, 27 Mar. 2023 See All Example Sentences for dilapidate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dilapidate
  1. putrefy
  2. decompose
  3. disintegrate
  4. corrupt
  5. degrade
  6. diminish
  7. recede
  8. downsize
Verb
  • Because lose-lose situations are so endemic to the genre, a hint of relief can sometimes accompany the prospect of surrender to the putrefying mob.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
  • Fast-forward to now, and the scene has putrefied into a wasteland of the percussive undead.
    — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 2 July 2025
Definition of putrefy
Verb
  • But the situation is far more tragic, with videos on social media showing dozens of coffins lined up beside mass graves, awaiting burial before the bodies decompose in the heat.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The body itself was badly decomposed after spending an unknown amount of time exposed to the elements, with animals, bugs and rain, plus 50 years in storage.
    — Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of decompose
Verb
  • The house was the only one that was still standing; all the others have disintegrated into abstract shapes.
    — Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Cristobal disintegrated just as quickly in the northern Atlantic on August 13.
    — Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of disintegrate
Verb
  • This may then seem like yet another story about how Trump has wrecked norms and corrupted the rule of law.
    — James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Instead, in trying to explain what made both Murdoch and Lamb tick in those early days, Boyle and Graham show us just how intoxicating and corrupting this kind of success can be.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Verb
  • Users will likely notice if outputs degrade, just like Chinese systems attacking models would.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
  • In 1963, Gloria Steinem went undercover for a journalism assignment as a Playboy bunny, exposing degrading working conditions that forced policy changes.
    — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • Foreign central banks and other institutions looking for a safe place to park their capital have diminished roles in the Treasury market and have increasingly turned to alternative havens like gold.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026
  • These stabs at earnestness do nothing to diminish the feeling of the concert film being little more than a cash grab.
    — Elena Lazic, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • Desertification, a process where vegetation recedes because of high heat and low rainfall, threatens much of the Great Hungarian Plain.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026
  • But yeah, just how quickly the cravings to check my phone all the time really receded.
    — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of recede
Verb
  • The new team’s work was already visible during a visit to the New York City flagship on Madison Avenue, which had been downsized several years ago and now has around 15,000 square feet of selling space.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • But these policies don't protect people from a layoff due to other factors like if the company downsizes or closes operations.
    — Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of downsize

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Cite this Entry

“Dilapidate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dilapidate. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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