decrepit

[dih-krep-it]

adjective

1. weakened by old age; feeble; infirm.

   a decrepit man who can hardly walk.

   Antonyms: vigorous

2. worn out by long use; dilapidated.

   a decrepit stove.

decrepit

/ dɪˈkrɛpɪt /

adjective

1. enfeebled by old age; infirm

2. broken down or worn out by hard or long use; dilapidated

Other Word Forms

• decrepitude noun
• decrepitly adverb
• decrepitness noun
• undecrepit adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of decrepit¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin dēcrepitus, literally, “broken down,” equivalent to dē- de- + crep(āre) “to crack” + -i- -i- + -tus past participle suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of decrepit¹

C15: from Latin dēcrepitus, from crepāre to creak

Synonym Study

See weak.

Example Sentences

For that offense, she was grabbed off the street by a half-dozen plainclothes federal agents and detained for weeks in a decrepit ICE facility, thousands of miles away.

Read more on Salon

It is so decrepit that it has served as a post-apocalyptic setting for music videos by stars such as Drake, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The building is decrepit, with peeling paint, rusted pipes, and crumbling toilets in each cramped cell.

Read more on BBC

The government has referred to the ships as being "decrepit and dangerous" as well as being responsible for "reckless seafaring".

Read more on BBC

My kids became middle-aged before I became decrepit.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• battered 
• broken-down 
• creaky 
• dilapidated 
• feeble 
• flimsy 
• frail 
• infirm 
• ramshackle 
• rickety 
• run down 
• seedy 
• shabby