DECAYS Synonyms: 106 Similar and Opposite Words

decays

verb

present tense third-person singular of decay

as in decomposes

to go through decomposition the logs decayed on the rain forest floor the atom of plutonium decayed in the test chamber

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as in deteriorates

to become worse or of less value the restaurant's standards for food and service had decayed over the years

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as in fades

to lose bodily strength or vigor having reached her 80s, the woman could sense that her body was decaying

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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 decays Control concentrated in one person dies with that person, decays with that person's judgment, and converts to cash the day that person takes a hard enough offer. — Kyle Westaway, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 Europe will not be able to defend itself militarily if democracy decays internally. — Wendell Wallach, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026 In theory, beryllium-8 normally decays into two helium-4 nuclei. — Big Think, 19 Mar. 2026 This state then decays through a two-step cascade, releasing two photons in rapid succession. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 8 Mar. 2026 But Daye naturally decays at the end of each season, unless she is rebuilt using the branches, berries, and blooms of the next. — Literary Hub, 2 Mar. 2026 Grief gets layered on top of grief and secrets stack sky high as suburban normalcy decays into something at once alarmingly unstable and comfortingly funny. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 19 Dec. 2025 This famously happens when a quantum object is measured, but in this case, the mystery crops up when the top quark decays into lighter particles. — Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 25 Nov. 2025 The RTGs are mounted on a boom and use plutonium-238 oxide that slowly decays and produces heat. — George Petras, USA Today, 25 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for decays

Verb

The research team enabled a room-temperature, four-electron chemical reaction path that forms and decomposes lithium oxide, which expands available energy storage.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026
Organic material trapped in reservoirs accumulates and decomposes over time, releasing methane — a potent greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to global warming, Fernández-Garrido told CNN.

— Radina Gigova, CNN Money, 27 May 2026

Definition of decomposes

Verb

As the glimmer of June’s full Strawberry Moon fades into the night, darker evenings allow for a better view of the Milky Way along with other celestial bodies.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026
Then, just as suddenly, the din fades away, the focus shifts and the election process is forgotten until the next round of howling protest.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of fades

Verb

The debris – space rocks known as meteoroids – collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky, according to NASA.

— Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 17 June 2026
Even those who can afford to stay suffer losses in home equity and lifestyle as the community around them disintegrates or disappears.

— The Conversation, Fortune, 12 June 2026

Definition of disintegrates

Verb

When the dollar weakens, commodity prices expressed in dollars tend to rise to maintain purchasing power parity for buyers operating in other currencies.

— Jason Kirsch, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
But the corresponding upheaval is still catastrophic for any surrounding planets, which either get swallowed up by the expanding star, or drift into wider orbits as the star’s gravity weakens—some are flung out from the system entirely.

— Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 1 July 2026

Definition of weakens

Verb

Parents used to tell their children that television rots the brain; now it’s considered a medium for legitimate art.

— New York Times, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Training plants to stay off the ground instead of trailing prevents many common fungal diseases, fruit spots, and rots.

— Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 May 2026

Definition of rots

Verb

Finally comes the terminal phase, when the warhead re-enters the atmosphere and descends toward its target.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026
When World Cup season descends upon soccer-mad Brazil, green and yellow banners decorate restaurants, bars and apartment buildings, streets are painted with flags and soccer balls, and discussions of the beloved national team's games are ubiquitous.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026

Definition of descends

Browse Nearby Words

decaying

decays

decease

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“Decays.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decays. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of decays

verb

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