dilapidate
/dɪˈlæp.ɪ.deɪt/
dilapidate means to cause to become ruined or put into disrepair. It carries an Arena rating of 1752, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, dilapidate ranks #105 of 13,217 for Most Ponderous Words, #541 of 13,217 for Most Storied Words, #876 of 13,217 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,031 of 13,217 for Most Malleable Words.
dilapidate is pronounced /dɪˈlæp.ɪ.deɪt/.
Why “dilapidate” is a great word
To cause or allow something, especially a building or structure, to fall into a state of ruin or disrepair through neglect or misuse. From Latin dilapidare, meaning 'to scatter, squander, or destroy,' from dis- ('apart, asunder') + lapidare ('to stone, pelt with stones'), from lapis ('stone'); first attested in English in the 1560s. Unlike 'decay,' which implies a natural process of organic dissolution, or 'demolish,' which denotes a swift and deliberate act of violence, to dilapidate is to preside over a slow-motion collapse through inattention. It is the sag of a roof under forgotten snow, the persistent ache of a leaking gutter, and the incremental theft of a slate roof by decades of storms—the quiet spectacle of order being willingly forsaken.
Etymology
From Latin dilapidō (“to scatter, consume, throw away”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), from dis- (“asunder”) + lapidō (“to stone”), from lapis (“stone”). Compare French dilapider.
verb
- To cause to become ruined or put into disrepair.“If the bishop, parson, or vicar, etc., dilapidates the buildings, or cuts down the timber of the patrimony[…]”
- To squander or waste.“The patrimony of the bishopric of Oxon was much dilapidated.”
- To fall into ruin or disuse.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.