disrepair

/ˌˈdɪsrəˌpɛər/

/dɪsrəˈpɛr/

Other forms: disrepairs

Disrepair is a state of being damaged or broken, especially because of neglect. Leaving your car in your parents' driveway all winter might result in disrepair.

A house in disrepair needs help — it might look shabby, with flaking paint and a crumbling brick porch. This mostly happens when houses aren't being lived in, or when their owners don't have the money for upkeep. An entire city or neighborhood in disrepair feels neglected and even dangerous. The noun disrepair combines the prefix dis-, "do the opposite with repair, "mend or fix," from its Latin root reparare, "restore" or "put back in order."

Definitions of disrepair

1. noun

   the state of being in poor condition or in need of repair
   type of:

   unsoundness

   a condition of damage or decay