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 rotting
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
1
as in ramshackle
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in dying
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Example Sentences
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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
Verb
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
Adjective
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
-
The causes of the deterioration are different in each case, and some of Washington’s grievances against Brazil, India, and South Africa—global swing states that will help dictate which country leads the world—are legitimate.—
Richard Fontaine,
Foreign Affairs,
27 Oct. 2025
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According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, CMT causes a range of sensory and motor symptoms, including numbness, tingling, pain, muscle weakness and atrophy — deterioration in cells, tissues, and organs.—
Diana Leyva,
Nashville Tennessean,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
Verb
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Instead, the property has passed hands from private owner to private owner, hidden from view off a lonely winding road, slowly deteriorating over the years.—
Amanda Rosa
October 23,
Miami Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Grid operators are warning of steep increases in electricity demand for the first time in decades, leading utilities to race to expand capacity by reviving plans for natural-gas plants or building new ones, and, in some regions, even extending the life of deteriorating coal facilities.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Caos isn’t an easy listen, often fading into a bleary haze and not quite coherently fulfilling the implications of its concept.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Imagine slowly losing the center of your vision, like a camera lens fading to fog.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
23 Oct. 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
Noun
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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
Verb
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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
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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
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In addition to rampant inflation, goods shortages, and a crumbling labor market, the liquid reserves held in Russia’s National Wealth Fund continue to decline precipitously, down to approximately $35 billion from $117 billion three years ago.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
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The dilapidated wooden trim and sagging porticos were spruced up a few years ago after preservationists complained to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, but the upstairs windows reveal glimpses of peeling paint, crumbling plaster, and collapsing ceilings inside.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decaying. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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