decrepitude
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of decrepitude
1595–1605; < French décrépitude, derivative of décrépit decrepit; -tude
Explanation
Many old buildings located in “ghost towns” in the Old West area of the United States are in a state of decrepitude. In other words, they are worn out and in disrepair. Decrepitude is usually a result of old age or neglect. Elderly people can be in this state and so can things, such as homes and automobiles. Similar words, which also happen to start with the letter D, are dilapidation and deterioration. Haunted houses featured in the movies are good examples of decrepitude. Most of them are not new and shiny, but have peeling paint, creaking floorboards, and lots of cobwebs.
Vocabulary lists containing decrepitude
Poe's Favorite Words, collected by Charles Harrington Elster
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The Namesake
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"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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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 asked: "How do we ethically justify forcing these bodies to continue to exist in decrepitude?"
From BBC • May 13, 2025
For years, the levee running along the Pajaro River had been neglected despite concerns about its decrepitude.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2023
Many famous defendants have aimed for respectability, maturity, wide-eyed innocence or even pitiful decrepitude on their days in court.
From Washington Post • Mar. 25, 2023
On Tuesday, one of the main buildings on the property was demolished, after a devastating fire delivered the killing blow following decades of decrepitude and abandonment.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 17, 2022
Even in her later years, when she could no longer get out of bed, it seemed that she was simply defeated by decrepitude, but no one discovered that she was blind.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
