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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of decaying
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, scotch whisky wouldn’t even exist without the decaying power of peat—a terrifying thought, if there ever was one.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2026
Thirty-one of the 137 proposals apply only to downtown, including looser rules for farmers markets and new developer incentives for projects that have rooftop gardens or are along decaying C Street.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
For her, the little pink houses of our decaying American mythology are still haunted enough to give her a few more good short stories.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2026
Melton said the decaying structures impact children walking to school, bring down property values and stand in the way of progress.
—Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Shot locally in Los Angeles and based on an original idea by Nicholas Geisler (Bunk’d), who here made his feature directorial debut, Gulf of America follows a family who inherits a decaying desert motel, triggering an inescapable descent into greed, psychosis, and terror.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
Importance of Cleaning Lawn Debris Before Spring Clearing your lawn of debris, such as matted leaves and branches, increases airflow, allows sunlight to penetrate, and prevents disease and pests, as decaying matter is a breeding ground for fungal diseases like snow mold.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 21 Feb. 2026
But mostly they are found in soil and feed on algae, fungal, plant roots and decaying organic matter.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 19 Feb. 2026
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
Protect your home by removing decaying wood, controlling moisture, and cleaning gutters and overgrowth.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, scotch whisky wouldn’t even exist without the decaying power of peat—a terrifying thought, if there ever was one.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2026
Thirty-one of the 137 proposals apply only to downtown, including looser rules for farmers markets and new developer incentives for projects that have rooftop gardens or are along decaying C Street.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
For her, the little pink houses of our decaying American mythology are still haunted enough to give her a few more good short stories.
—Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2026
Melton said the decaying structures impact children walking to school, bring down property values and stand in the way of progress.
—Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2026
Shot locally in Los Angeles and based on an original idea by Nicholas Geisler (Bunk’d), who here made his feature directorial debut, Gulf of America follows a family who inherits a decaying desert motel, triggering an inescapable descent into greed, psychosis, and terror.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
Importance of Cleaning Lawn Debris Before Spring Clearing your lawn of debris, such as matted leaves and branches, increases airflow, allows sunlight to penetrate, and prevents disease and pests, as decaying matter is a breeding ground for fungal diseases like snow mold.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 21 Feb. 2026
But mostly they are found in soil and feed on algae, fungal, plant roots and decaying organic matter.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 19 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decaying
Noun
-
Summary The recent selloff in SLB appears driven more by macro uncertainty and market positioning than by any deterioration in the company’s fundamentals.—
Tony Zhang,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Contributing to the rust and deterioration of the village mains is not just their age but the fact that Sleepy Hollow’s soil is mostly soft and partially peaty, Hof said.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Money and resources flowed almost entirely to sports favored by whites—cricket and rugby—while soccer was left mostly to Black South Africans, playing in substandard, ramshackle stadiums in squalid townships.—
Ian Buruma,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
-
The cacophonous construction in the film opening scene is of a ramshackle company hut for Junior’s whole family to live in — nothing more than a one-room shed, it’s cramped and unequal to the coming rainy season.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Garden centers aren't giving a refund for a dying or dead plant but rather a discount on a new purchase.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Inside the bag was a woman’s partially skeletonized decomposing torso, with the head, arms and legs missing.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Weed seeds land in decomposing mulch and find a foothold.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The two-time Oscar winner captures Garland in showstopper mode and, with spine curved and cigarette in hand, deftly communicates Garland's deteriorating state and the toll of her struggles with addiction.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Ollongren also warned of the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and the war’s adverse effects on human rights in Iran and the broader region.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The clubs, civic organizations and community events that once brought our forefathers together are largely fading away.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Produced by Edko Films and directed by Jack Ng, the film is set in 2012 at a fading hostess nightclub in Tsim Sha Tsui East.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The subsurface storage reserve acts as the ultimate shock absorber against price spike and the decay of petroleum reserves due to poorly managed well shut-in during crisis.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The creation of a tiny black hole would only lead to its immediate decay.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And third, after years of gerrymandering and Republican consolidation of power, the Democratic turnout machine is exceedingly rickety.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
-
They will now be soldered together to form a financially rickety public hospital system.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decaying. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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