decrepit
Americanadjective
-
weakened by old age; feeble; infirm.
a decrepit man who can hardly walk.
- Antonyms:
- vigorous
-
worn out by long use; dilapidated.
a decrepit stove.
adjective
-
enfeebled by old age; infirm
-
broken down or worn out by hard or long use; dilapidated
Related Words
See weak.
Other Word Forms
- decrepitly adverb
- decrepitness noun
- decrepitude noun
- undecrepit adjective
Etymology
Origin of decrepit
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They loaded salvageable sofas and home appliances onto decrepit blue pickup trucks in the unmistakable 1960s design of local brand Zamyad.
From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026
Years before the U.S. military set off for battlegrounds in Cuba and the Philippines, rebels in both places had begun to fight for independence from the decrepit Spanish empire.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
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.
From Salon • Oct. 9, 2025
The government has referred to the ships as being "decrepit and dangerous" as well as being responsible for "reckless seafaring".
From BBC • May 8, 2025
Picasso lived in a decrepit apartment, and he’d painted a massive work no one could stomach.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
