disrepair
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of disrepair
Explanation
Disrepair is a state of being damaged or broken, especially because of neglect. Leaving your car in your parents' driveway all winter might result in disrepair. A house in disrepair needs help — it might look shabby, with flaking paint and a crumbling brick porch. This mostly happens when houses aren't being lived in, or when their owners don't have the money for upkeep. An entire city or neighborhood in disrepair feels neglected and even dangerous. The noun disrepair combines the prefix dis-, "do the opposite with repair, "mend or fix," from its Latin root reparare, "restore" or "put back in order."
Vocabulary lists containing disrepair
Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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Outcasts United
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The View from Saturday
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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.
Hidden behind the historic Stanmer House sits a Victorian-style palm house which, until recently, had fallen into disrepair, but is now home to thousands of butterflies.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
“Now all those artists are gone, and all that art is gone,” Chambers said, peering toward his studio, which houses Louis Comfort Tiffany lamps in disrepair.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
In Bel-Air, a 105,000-square-foot spec house was marketed for $500 million, but by the time it was finished, it was already falling into disrepair and ended up being auctioned off for $141 million.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
During the 1970s, a difficult period for Mobile, Battle House fell into disrepair and closed its doors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
The disrepair of the house did not bother her at all, the crumbling plaster, the peeling wallpaper, the faded paints or the columns; none of it made any difference.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
