dilapidating

verb

present participle of dilapidate
as in disintegrating

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dilapidating
  1. disintegrating
  2. decomposing
  3. moldering
  4. degrading
  5. putrefying
  6. crumbling
  7. diminishing
  8. corrupting
Verb
  • Particles of disintegrating kelp drifted downward like falling leaves.
    — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Scott’s face, in this shot, is a whole novel, disintegrating into tears before being shored up again, eventually rearranged into something resembling a welcoming smile that teeters on the edge of collapse.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of disintegrating
Verb
  • In this case, the researchers focused its attention on acetic acid – the source of the sour, vinegar-like smell coming from decomposing garbage.
    — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of decomposing
Verb
  • No less slippery are his matinée-idol looks, which can turn wolfish or ratty on a dime, as if his beauty were moldering away from within.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Getting the rotting food off racks towering six stories high required hundreds of workers in protective suits to dislodge the moldering food.
    — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of moldering
Verb
  • Online critics characterized the Polymarket contract as degrading and questioned why celebrity ambassadors would associate themselves with the company.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Oliver got the show started by kicking his heels together and pointing out that stand-up comedy and a venue like Carnegie Hall are opposing ovals in a Venn diagram, with stand-up degrading such a magnificent space.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of degrading
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 putrefying
Verb
  • Nearly a third of its education budget is eaten up by pensions, so its poorer schools are crumbling.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In Frankfurt, a gray city crumbling at the corners and still finding its footing after the war, though somehow doing its best to pretend all is well, Mann and Erika are greeted by the mayor and hustled off to a press conference.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of crumbling
Verb
  • Kikuchi makes Haru’s occasionally mortifying romantic pursuit both funny and affecting, embracing the character’s impulsive, sometimes ridiculous behavior without diminishing the depth of her loss.
    — Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The good news is that its strongest winds and heaviest rain will remain over the Atlantic, with impacts along our coastline gradually diminishing.
    — Kate Bilo, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of diminishing
Verb
  • 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
  • Delphi sits above a geologic vent, an X from which noxious gases escaped the earth, corrupting the minds of women who inhaled and pronounced their prophecies.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of corrupting
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.

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dilapidates
dilapidating
dilapidation
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Cite this Entry

“Dilapidating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dilapidating. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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