Dilapidation

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Dilapidation \Di*lap`i*da"tion\, n. [L. dilapidatio: cf. F.
     dilapidation.]
     1. The act of dilapidating, or the state of being
        dilapidated, reduced to decay, partially ruined, or
        squandered.
        [1913 Webster]


  
              Tell the people that are relived by the dilapidation
              of their public estate.               --Burke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Ecclesiastical waste; impairing of church property by an
        incumbent, through neglect or by intention.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The business of dilapidations came on between our
              bishop and the Archibishop of York.   --Strype.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Law) The pulling down of a building, or suffering it to
        fall or be in a state of decay. --Burrill.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  dilapidation
       n 1: a state of deterioration due to old age or long use [syn: {decrepitude}]
       2: the process of becoming dilapidated [syn: {ruin}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  61 Moby Thesaurus words for "dilapidation":
     ablation, atomization, bankruptcy, biodegradability,
     biodegradation, breakage, breakdown, breakup, collapse, corrosion,
     corruption, crack-up, crippling, crumbling, damage, decay,
     decomposition, degradability, degradation, destruction, detriment,
     disablement, disintegration, disjunction, disorganization,
     disrepair, dissolution, encroachment, erosion, harm, hobbling,
     hurt, hurting, impairment, incapacitation, incoherence,
     infringement, injury, inroad, loss, maiming, mayhem, mildew,
     mischief, mold, mutilation, oxidation, oxidization,
     ravages of time, resolution, ruination, ruinousness, rust,
     sabotage, scathe, sickening, spoilage, spoiling, weakening, wear,
     wear and tear
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  DILAPIDATION. Literally, this signifies the injury done to a building by 
  taking stones from it; but in its figurative, which is also its technical 
  sense, it means the waste committed or permitted upon a building.