dilapidating

Definition of dilapidatingnext
present participle of dilapidate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dilapidating
Verb
  • As in a seventeenth-century poem by John Donne, George Herbert, or Andrew Marvell, the fraught human body is a microcosm, a mirror to the larger disintegrating world spirit.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
  • When Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s army was disintegrating in the face of a rapid advance by Syrian opposition forces under the command of Ahmad al-Sharaa, all the Russians were willing to do was launch a few symbolic airstrikes and help organize Assad’s getaway to a life in exile.
    Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • In desert regions, natural mummification is common due to the dry conditions where fungi and bacteria can’t thrive on a decomposing corpse.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Jan. 2026
  • In town, the painter also notes the reek of decomposing bodies, of garbage, of blood streaming out of the butcher shop.
    Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • But then a fresh corpse turns up, as well as a long-moldering skeleton, and the club members are off and running.
    Tom Gliatto, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • The issue has intensified in recent years and is only set to get worse, as the relentless expansion of urban centres brings artificial light further into the countryside, permeating and degrading our view of the heavens.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 28 Jan. 2026
  • These combined factors are degrading the city’s healthcare system.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026
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
Verb
  • And behind every man with a good name and a crumbling pile, there’s a wife shrewdly attending to the seating plan.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Even with oil shipments from Venezuela, widespread blackouts have persisted across Cuba given fuel shortages and a crumbling electric grid.
    Dánica Coto, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • But while the statement is getting a lot of attention, the far bigger story in Ottawa is the team’s diminishing playoff odds.
    Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The committee’s Democratic members savaged Rubio for diminishing America’s global role; the meeting grew so rancorous that Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho who was Rubio’s closest friend in the Senate, had to repeatedly bang his gavel to bring order.
    Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • But now, federal prosecutors say Hennen is the fixer behind the biggest point-shaving scandal in history, accused of bribing 39 college players, corrupting 17 programs and fixing — or trying fix — 29 games to enrich himself and other gamblers.
    Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Blakeney then recruited other players on the team, corrupting the integrity of games, according to the indictment.
    Paulina Dedaj , Ryan Morik , Andrew Fone, FOXNews.com, 15 Jan. 2026
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dilapidating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dilapidating. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

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!