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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
  • McGraw said their policy is to allow carcasses to decompose naturally, which is similar to rules followed by the Forest Preserves of Cook County, Cotter said.
    — Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Most of the remains were severely decomposed, but investigators believed Montgomery had been dead for less than a day when he was found.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of decompose
Verb
  • Scott’s face, in this shot, is a whole novel, disintegrating into tears before being shored up again, eventually rearranged into something resembling a welcoming smile that teeters on the edge of collapse.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But slack defending allowed Chelsea’s individual quality to shine and as the match wore on, United’s confidence disintegrated.
    — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of disintegrate
Verb
  • The title character and his fellow physicists spend much of their early years refusing to work for the Soviet military machine; building bombs would corrupt the purity and beauty of their science.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2026
  • And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence.
    — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Verb
  • As industries increasingly operate equipment in extreme thermal and demanding environments, optical components must withstand conditions that can quickly degrade conventional materials.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
  • When a critical resource of a larger system is categorized as interchangeable, the company triggers savings logic that, in pursuit of lower prices, degrades quality.
    — Mindaugas Čaplinskas, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • Employees need clarity on how new skills connect to opportunities and confidence that AI will enhance, not diminish, their value in the organization.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • If the senator’s moralism has been unfettered by his stroke, with a shift toward right-brain moralistic processing, that does not diminish his sincere intent or its effect.
    — Michael P.H. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • Meanwhile, the narrator neither recedes nor reveals any substantial personal information.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Yet the likelihood of that eventuality coming to pass has receded substantially now the England international has signed a new five-year contract.
    — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of recede
Verb
  • The administration has taken steps to upend the nation's vaccine guidance -- many of them since halted by a judge -- including downsizing the childhood immunization schedule.
    — FATIMA HUSSEIN, Arkansas Online, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Scientific priorities evolve, platforms are discontinued, and departments that were expanding one year may be downsized the next, not because the people failed, but because business priorities changed.
    — Bill Holodnak, Forbes.com, 16 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 19 Sep. 2026.

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