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

Derived Forms

• deˈcrepiˌtude, noun
• deˈcrepitly, adverb

Other Words From

• de·crepit·ly adverb
• de·crepit·ness noun
• unde·crepit 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

The overt deviance of Psycho seemed to crack open the dirty psychology of America itself, shifting the scares away from stodgy haunted houses to decrepit roadside mausoleums and the secrets they hid, and ushering in an era of psychosexual horror.

From Vox

What we saw were a few work-in-progress environments for the decrepit mining freighter USG Ishimura, a rough in-game model of Clarke's engineering suit, and a lesson in destructible necromorph biology inside an entirely unfinished framework.

From Ars Technica

It did not strike me as incidental to the decrepit housing they provided, or the labor by which he paid for it.

From Time

The lower level that she dreamed of turning into a ping-pong room to entice her grandkids to visit looked, upon arrival, decrepit and possibly haunted.

From Washington Post

Another is confronting the city’s decrepit infrastructure, and the lack of funds to address it.

From Voice of San Diego

It was headquartered in Stanleyville, in a tall corner building that still stands in the decrepit, yet lively, downtown.

From The Daily Beast

Only a rounded bar and three rotting bathtubs remain in the decrepit club.

From The Daily Beast

The decrepit BMD came to a stop with a gear-clanking jolt by the water, and within seconds the soldiers broke out the vodka.

From The Daily Beast

As I stepped out of a decrepit office building into a perfect sunny day, a member of my team started talking into his radio.

From The Daily Beast

Wandering around Tribeca, you may stumble upon a decrepit elevator shaft that's full of curiosities.

From The Daily Beast

Who is in a decrepit age, and that is in care about all things, and to the distrustful that loseth patience!

From Project Gutenberg

Then she proudly led the way to one of the largest and certainly the most decrepit looking of all the hovels in Dogtown.

From Project Gutenberg

The decrepit figure in its quaint Acadian garb was one to be remembered.

From Project Gutenberg

When the audience should weep it laughs and there are tears instead of smiles for his decrepit attempts at comedy.

From Project Gutenberg

Groping his way about, he found that the room was bare of all furnishing, except for a decrepit old cot, and a rough table.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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