What does decrepit mean?
Word: Decrepit
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Decrepit means so old and worn that it hardly works or holds together.
Synonyms: dilapidated, ramshackle
How do you spell decrepit?
Syllables: de - crep - it
Tricky part: Pupils who know rapid and vivid often finish this word with a d. The final consonant is a t, however soft it sounds.
Watch out for: decrepid, decrepet
Memory tip: Imagine an old shed falling apart bit by bit, and finish on the t of bit.
Decrepit in a sentence
Example 1: The decrepit cycle shed behind our school finally got a new roof.
Example 2: Grandpa's decrepit radio still crackles out the cricket score every Sunday.
Example 3: Volunteers repainted the decrepit benches in the town park last month.
Fun Fact
Its Latin root is a verb meaning to creak or rattle, so the sound of a rusty gate sits inside the history of this word.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word decrepit as used in the sentence:
A decrepit bus wheezed up the hill road towards the village market.
a) sturdy
b) run-down
c) rickety
d) shabby
Show answer
a) sturdy. A sturdy bus is strong and solid; the other three all describe one that is past its best.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to complete the word:
d_cr_pit
a) a, e
b) e, e
c) i, e
d) e, i
Show answer
b) e, e. Say the first two beats slowly, de-crep: both vowels are the same.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
The rpeicdet wooden footbridge over the stream creaks whenever anyone crosses it.
a) decrepit
b) deceptive
c) discrete
d) decorous
Show answer
a) decrepit. Only one of these uses exactly eight letters with a p and no s, v or o.
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. meticulous 2. decreppit 3. benevolent 4. resilient
a) falling to pieces after long years of use
b) able to recover quickly from difficulty
c) kind and wishing to do good
d) paying great attention to small details
Show answer
a) falling to pieces after long years of use. Benevolent, meticulous and resilient are all correct, so the one with a doubled p is the misspelling.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A car described in this way would be hardest to:
a) wash on a sunny day
b) sell for a good price
c) photograph from the front
d) park in a large garage
Show answer
b) sell for a good price
2. A town council finds that a footpath railing is in this state. What is the most sensible next step?
a) invite more people to use it
b) add lights for evening walks
c) repair or replace it soon
d) put up a new name board
Show answer
c) repair or replace it soon
