decrepitude

noun

de·​crep·​i·​tude di-ˈkre-pə-ˌtüd How to pronounce decrepitude (audio)
-ˌtyüd
: the quality or state of being decrepit

Examples of decrepitude in a Sentence

The house has fallen into decrepitude.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Any rescue from the muck rests with ordinary citizens taking city and state government back from the politicians serving special interests rather than their own; and shunting aside the go-along-to-get-along business and civic elites settling for decrepitude. Forrest Claypool, Chicago Tribune, 5 Dec. 2024 Despite Orlok’s prosthetic decrepitude and the plague-like toxicity of his love, what truly horrifies Ellen about him is that some unknown part of her nature craves his touch. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 2 Dec. 2024 His advanced decrepitude will be matched only by the looming threat of irrelevance in a desensitized world. Hunter Ingram, Variety, 25 Oct. 2023 Here and throughout his work, contradictions between vitality and decrepitude, nature and artifice, beauty and the grotesque don’t resolve in neutralizing harmony, but instead thrum on with generative friction. Leah Ollman, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2023 See all Example Sentences for decrepitude 

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of decrepitude was in 1603

Dictionary Entries Near decrepitude

Cite this Entry

“Decrepitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decrepitude. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

decrepitude

noun
de·​crep·​i·​tude di-ˈkrep-ə-ˌt(y)üd How to pronounce decrepitude (audio)
: the quality or state of being decrepit : loss of strength or sturdiness especially from old age

More from Merriam-Webster on decrepitude

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