decrepit
/dɪˈkɹɛp.ɪt/
"decrepit" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“decrepit” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #38,357 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #38,357
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Weakened or worn out from age or wear.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | decrepit |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /dɪˈkɹɛp.ɪt/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #38,357 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “decrepit” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for decrepit is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dɪˈkɹɛp.ɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #38,357 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Weakened or worn out from age or wear.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for decrepit, with forms such as "dcerepit", "ddecrepit", and "deccrepit". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "decrypt", "deceit", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English decrepyt (ante 1439), from Middle French décrépit, from Latin dēcrepitus (“very old”), from crepō (“to creak”). The correct English form is decrepit, spelled D-E-C-R-E-P-I-T.
Definition
- 1Weakened or worn out from age or wear.
Etymology
From Middle English decrepyt (ante 1439), from Middle French décrépit, from Latin dēcrepitus (“very old”), from crepō (“to creak”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dcerepit,ddecrepit,deccrepit,decerpit,decreipt,decrepitt,decreppit,decrepti,decrpeit,decrrepit,dercepit,edcrepit
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of decrepit - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “decrepit”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-C-R-E-P-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dɪˈkɹɛp.ɪt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “decrypt” - see the side-by-side comparison. decrepit vs decrypt
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.