disrepair

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is-

Proto-Italic *dis-

Latin dis-

Old French des-bor.

▲

Latin dis-bor.

Middle English dis-

English dis-

Proto-Italic *wre-

Latin re-der.

Old French re-bor.

Middle English re-

English re-

English pair

English repair

English disrepair

From dis- + repair.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪs.ɹɪˈpɛə(ɹ)/

  • Audio (London):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪs.ɹɪˈpɛɚ/

  • Audio (North Carolina):

    (file)

  • Audio (Texas):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: dis‧re‧pair
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Noun

disrepair (countable and uncountable, plural disrepairs)

a door in state of disrepair

1. The state of being in poor condition, in need of repair.

   The sewing machine is in disrepair.

   The house had fallen into such disrepair that no agent would show it to buyers.

   • 1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:

     Caleb would have said something of the disrepair of the chamber, but was silenced by the irritable impatience which was expressed in his master's countenance; he lighted the way trembling and in silence, placed the lamp on the table of the deserted room, and was about to attempt some arrangement of the bed, when his master bid him begone in a tone that admitted of no delay.

   • 1921, Cornelia Meigs, The Windy Hill, Chapter 6:

     As Janet went back and forth, she was struck by the surprising charm that the old house showed within, quite out of keeping with its littered door-yard and outward disrepair. The white woodwork had gone long unpainted, it was true, and the floors were worn and uneven, but there was an airy spaciousness in the rooms, a comfortable dignity in the old mahogany furniture, and the grace of real beauty in the curved white staircase with its dark, polished rail.

   • 1962 January, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region: Midland Lines”, in Modern Railways, page 59:

     All the A.C.V. four-wheel diesel railbuses are now stored in seeming disrepair at Derby Friargate.

   • 2017 January 20, Donald Trump, Inauguration speech:

     We've defended other nations' borders while refusing to defend our own, and spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America's infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.

   • 2023 October 18, 'Industry Insider', “High speed abandoned”, in RAIL, number 994, page 68:

     The overriding reason that the public estate - be it roads, hospitals or schools - has fallen into disrepair is the continuing lack of economic growth, which has meant no budget can be found to keep assets in a good state of repair.

Synonyms

• unrepair

Translations

the state of being in poor condition

• Bulgarian: неизправност (bg) f (neizpravnost)
• French: délabrement (fr) m
• Italian: rovina (it) f, sfacelo (it) m
• Polish: zapaść (pl) f
• Russian: неиспра́вность (ru) f (neisprávnostʹ)

Verb

disrepair (third-person singular simple present disrepairs, present participle disrepairing, simple past and past participle disrepaired)

1. (intransitive, rare) To get into a state of disrepair.
   • 1971, John Oliver Killens, The Cotillion, Or, One Good Bull is Half the Herd‎^[1]:

     The house was disrepairing before your very eyes.