dilapidated 1 of 2

adjective

də-ˈla-pə-ˌdā-təd How to pronounce dilapidated (audio)
Definition of dilapidatednext
as in neglected
showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect a dilapidated car that had seen better days

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dilapidated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of dilapidate
as in degraded

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 dilapidated
Adjective
The zoo, which houses more than 1,600 animals, has become dilapidated over the years. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026 Officials remain optimistic the project’s kickoff will reinvigorate residents to return to the dilapidated area. — Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026 Its current chapter as a travel venue is helmed by the Greene family, who bought the property in 2000 and began to restore it from a dilapidated state. — Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2026 Back at the dilapidated family home, Edgar grows even surlier, lashing into gentle-natured Joe for being an under-achiever compared to his brother and causing Thya to become apprehensive about Ed’s proximity to sharp objects. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for dilapidated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dilapidated
  1. neglected
  2. degraded
  3. abandoned
  4. decomposed
  5. desolate
  6. corrupted
  7. miserable
  8. disintegrated
Adjective
  • Investors and analysts are increasingly looking to other parts of the market, both to find neglected sources of value and to start assuming a defensive posture against a possible downturn.
    — Tobias Burns, CNBC, 16 July 2026
  • Changing their environment is more reliable and more neglected.
    — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Definition of neglected
Verb
  • The invasion has raised European willingness to spend more on defense, and the fighting has badly degraded Russia’s armed forces.
    — JENNIFER KAVANAGH, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Russia’s subsequent full-scale invasion has largely degraded into a battlefield stalemate, with Moscow’s and Kyiv’s forces vying for the upper hand, though the two sides have recently intensified their aerial attacks on one another.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of degraded
Adjective
  • By the time viewers reach hour 15, the staff has spent an entire shift navigating a cyberattack that forces the emergency department to abandon digital systems, a nonstop influx of Fourth of July emergencies and an abandoned baby.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
  • According to the gallery, the 25-minute film is set in a semi-abandoned hotel near Tokyo and reimagines the Greek myth of the goddess Persephone’s abduction by Hades.
    — Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 16 June 2026
Definition of abandoned
Verb
  • Determining the causes of death was complicated by how decomposed the bodies were, the medical examiner’s office said.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The study hypothesized that the sickle was added before the body fully decomposed since no joints were detached or displaced, as archaeologists would expect if a grave were to be disturbed after the body became a skeleton.
    — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of decomposed
Adjective
  • Exploring Indonesia—an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands—over more than a decade has led me to some truly jaw-dropping beaches, some gloriously desolate, others vibrantly alive with international travelers, expats, and locals.
    — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Noisemaker feels a genuine kinship with the Gallico story, including its setting, a desolate stretch of coastline in eastern England.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of desolate
Verb
  • Scott the aesthete, the creator of indelible images and ethereal moods who was unafraid to linger in beauty, even when that beauty was corrupted.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • As a result, the notion of utopia became increasingly associated with the sci-fi genre, while the idea of creating a perfect social order here on earth was corrupted by totalitarian regimes.
    — Carline Tromp, The Dial, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of corrupted
Adjective
  • The loss of cultural titans Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, Peter Cullen, and Yayoi Kusama sent the week in a miserable direction.
    — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Making someone miserable with a forty-one-page application does not.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of miserable
Verb
  • Just seconds later, in a separate incident, the Brazilian F50 was about to go into a standard jibe maneuver (turning the boat through the wind to change direction) but disintegrated in the blink of an eye.
    — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Tim Graham/Getty Images Most Popular Nader’s empire quickly disintegrated into chaos.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of disintegrated

Browse Nearby Words

dilapidate
dilapidated
dilapidates
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Dilapidated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dilapidated. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gumption

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All