dilapidated

[ dih-lap-i-dey-tid ]

adjective

1. reduced to or fallen into partial ruin or decay, as from age, wear, or neglect.

   Synonyms: rickety, ramshackle, run-down

dilapidated

/ dɪˈlæpɪˌdeɪtɪd /

adjective

1. falling to pieces or in a state of disrepair; shabby

Other Words From

• nondi·lapi·dated adjective
• undi·lapi·dated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dilapidated¹

First recorded in 1800–10; dilapidate + -ed ²

Example Sentences

An area previously known as Motel Drive, where illicit sex and drug sales once were rampant, has been transformed as the city bought up dilapidated motels.

From Los Angeles Times

They endure greater exposure to toxic industrial pollution, dangerously dilapidated housing, gun violence, and other social conditions linked to higher incidence of cancer, asthma, chronic stress, maternal and infant mortality, and myriad other health problems.

From Salon

Parents have raised safety fears about a dilapidated East Dunbartonshire school, after a teacher narrowly avoided being hit when a "repaired" section of ceiling fell down.

From BBC

The infamous Griffith J. Griffith — who in a bout of paranoia once shot his wife in the eye— all but forced the city to accept his “gift” of a dilapidated ostrich farm.

From Los Angeles Times

Kelce has gone the extra mile, buying a onetime muffler shop to expand Operation Breakthrough’s campus and create the Ignition Lab, in which students convert dilapidated jalopies into lacquered, showroom-ready electric vehicles.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• battered
• broken-down
• crumbling
• damaged
• decaying
• decrepit
• derelict
• dingy
• in ruins
• neglected
• ramshackle
• rickety
• run down
• seedy
• shabby
• unkempt