as in deterioration
a gradual sinking and wasting away of mind or body
the decaying of the bone mass that is so regrettably common in elderly women
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in ramshackle
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in dying
Related Words
1
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition
the logs decayed on the rain forest floor the atom of plutonium decayed in the test chamber
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deteriorating
to become worse or of less value
the restaurant's standards for food and service had decayed over the years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fading
to lose bodily strength or vigor
having reached her 80s, the woman could sense that her body was decaying
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decaying
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
What Pasolini wants is to turn this decaying palazzo into the Château de Silling, the house in which Sade’s libertines conduct their atrocious experiments.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The decaying carcasses would have been covered by a film of bacteria, which can electrostatically attract clay found in the surrounding sediment.
—Amanda Schupak, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
This layer then preserved the surface underneath it in three dimensions as the dinosaur’s organic matter continued decaying before its skeleton eventually fossilized.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
The decaying leaves dropping off the trees remind us of our own mortality.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 21 Oct. 2025
Protect your home by removing decaying wood, controlling moisture, and cleaning gutters and overgrowth.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
At a tannery, the raw animal hide goes through a series of chemical and mechanical treatments to remove hair, fat and flesh before a tanning agent is added to the hide to prevent it from decaying.
—Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 18 Oct. 2025
Dental crowns are caps placed over damaged or decaying teeth and can also serve as supports for dental bridges.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
For the study, Ruotsalainen measured the Q values of two double-beta decaying and one beta-decaying nucleus.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
Mia Wasikowska plays Edith, an heiress who marries a seductive baron, Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), and moves into his enormous, decaying mansion — which is also inhabited by Thomas' enigmatic sister, Lucille (Jessica Chastain).
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
What Pasolini wants is to turn this decaying palazzo into the Château de Silling, the house in which Sade’s libertines conduct their atrocious experiments.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
The decaying carcasses would have been covered by a film of bacteria, which can electrostatically attract clay found in the surrounding sediment.
—Amanda Schupak, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
This layer then preserved the surface underneath it in three dimensions as the dinosaur’s organic matter continued decaying before its skeleton eventually fossilized.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 Oct. 2025
The decaying leaves dropping off the trees remind us of our own mortality.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 21 Oct. 2025
Protect your home by removing decaying wood, controlling moisture, and cleaning gutters and overgrowth.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
At a tannery, the raw animal hide goes through a series of chemical and mechanical treatments to remove hair, fat and flesh before a tanning agent is added to the hide to prevent it from decaying.
—Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 18 Oct. 2025
Dental crowns are caps placed over damaged or decaying teeth and can also serve as supports for dental bridges.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decaying
Noun
-
Some of it is also related to the age and deterioration of much of the grid, which now requires rebuilding.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The deterioration in the labor market has been concentrated in payroll employment, which is the [datapoint] that is the most susceptible to demographic and immigration changes.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
White’s performance of the song on Austin City Limits in 1980, which was eventually released as the album Live in Austin, TX, is a ramshackle revelation.—
Garret K. Woodward,
Rolling Stone,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The series, based on novels by Mick Herron, follows a band of castoffs from the British national security service who are relegated to a ramshackle office building, with Lamb at its head.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Bugs and scientists have long been oddball allies in the effort to understand decomposing bodies, but there's a catch.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The round spots seemed neat compared with their surroundings, clear of the layers of decomposing plankton spotted elsewhere on the seafloor.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The movie, adapted from Ariana Harwicz’s novel of the same name and following a new mother whose mental health starts deteriorating amid their isolated Montana surroundings, features one of Lawrence’s gutsiest, most visceral performances to date.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
-
However, deteriorating or disturbed lead paint — through sanding or stripping — can create toxic dust that poses serious health hazards, particularly to children.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Even the combative Venezuela of eight years ago, where kids with homemade shields assembled in the streets day after day to battle the dictatorship’s goons, is a fading memory.—
Quico Toro,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Cheney is remembered as a chief architect of the war in Iraq after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a member of an old Republican Party guard that is quickly fading away.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Despite years of legal battles over the relocations, more than 150,000 bodies were exhumed from the 1920s to the early 1940s for the trip to Colma, each in various stages of decay.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Why didn’t evolution produce a more dependable version of the human body, less prone to malfunction and decay?—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Everything looks so rickety — this stadium wasn’t built for pandemonium like this.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Griff's was a cozy space inside with a small, rickety wooden patio in the front and a larger one in the back.—
Brianna Griff,
Chron,
13 Jan. 2023
Verb
-
The rotting corpse flower’s putrid stench cast a spell Thursday across Roseville High School’s campus.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Churches, libraries, and houses stand splintered and rotting next to posh tourist resorts, the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Maria.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decaying. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share