dilapidate

verb

Definition of dilapidatenext
as in to putrefy

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dilapidate At the center of the woods, off Haven Beach Road, was a solitary and dilapidated Colonial homestead that burned to the ground. — Bree Sposato, Travel + Leisure, 28 Apr. 2023 Hamdok found that the legacy of 30 years of dictatorship meant that Sudan’s political and economic models were dilapidated. — Justin Lynch, CNN, 17 Apr. 2023 The initial goal was to repair and renovate it; however, this proved to be impossible as the original structure was too dilapidated. — Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 28 Mar. 2023 The towers would replace a four-acre debris heap where the famed but dilapidated Deauville Beach Resort from the 1950s sat until courts ordered it to be imploded. — Mark Bisnow, Fortune, 27 Mar. 2023 See All Example Sentences for dilapidate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dilapidate
  1. putrefy
  2. decompose
  3. disintegrate
  4. corrupt
  5. degrade
  6. diminish
  7. recede
  8. downsize
Verb
  • Repeating the experiment with other plants, including tomatoes and wheat, yielded similar results—but an encounter with putrefying animal tissues had no effect.
    — Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2026
  • East of Eden is a tome obsessed with guilt, sin, ambition, race, the land as healing and capitalism as putrefying, the nature of fate and the question of free will, and the role money and inheritance play in either our corruption or our cleansing.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of putrefy
Verb
  • The first responding officer opened one of the suitcases and discovered a woman's decomposing body -- naked, bound with rope and in a fetal position.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Remnants of a wooden spear weren’t found near the Neanderthal’s remains, which is understandable since the material often decomposes so quickly.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of decompose
Verb
  • Some classic stuffing recipes call for plain white bread, which will likely absorb too much moisture and disintegrate.
    — Kendra Vaculin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Whatever one believes about the allegations against the couple, the devastation of watching an academic and media career disintegrate in real time is difficult to dismiss.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of disintegrate
Verb
  • Rousseau argued that societies were happiest before agriculture and metal production corrupted them.
    — Saar Shahar, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Documentarian Alex Gibney is no stranger to dissections of corrupting power — from his feature dives into Enron, Elizabeth Holmes and Scientology.
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Verb
  • With so few ancient samples of dodo DNA surviving—and that which does exist having degraded over the centuries—the analytic and number-crunching power of AI is just what’s needed to fill in the genetic blanks.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The partnership aims to keep the platform connected when military operations disrupt or degrade individual network links.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • Though apparently diminishing his own roster is part of the team's motivational playbook.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Granderson doesn’t believe that repeat celebrations diminish the significance of the ultimate prize, the World Series.
    — Don Riddell, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • Near Fort Walton Beach, officials had to wait until floodwaters began to recede late Friday night before beginning cleanup operations.
    — Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 10 Oct. 2026
  • The logistics data points to pressure extending beyond the ports, with businesses facing tighter warehouse availability and elevated freight costs even as the peak shipping period begins to recede.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of recede
Verb
  • The primary market is adults who want to downsize large one-family houses and relocate to a home expressly designed for seniors.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Conservatives have talked for years about the need to downsize the federal leviathan.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of downsize

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dilapidate
dilapidated
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Cite this Entry

“Dilapidate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dilapidate. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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