as in disintegrates
to go through decomposition
detectives needed to know how long it would take a corpse to decompose to that advanced state
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Recent Examples of decomposes
Another process, thermogenic hydrogen formation, occurs in deep sedimentary basins when organic material decomposes under high temperatures, roughly 480 to 930 degrees Fahrenheit (250 to 500 degrees Celsius).
—
Promise Longe, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2026
The clever bit is when these fuels flow through the Draper engine and encounter a catalyst that decomposes the hydrogen peroxide into high-pressure oxygen and steam.
—New Atlas, 25 Feb. 2026
The research team developed a route-planning system for Astrobee, the ISS’s robotic assistant, that leverages sequential convex programming—a method that decomposes complex trajectory planning into smaller, tractable steps while guaranteeing safety and feasibility.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Dec. 2025
Shilajit is a mineral-rich resin that forms over centuries as plant material slowly decomposes under heat and pressure within the rocks of the Himalayan Mountains.
—Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 27 Nov. 2025
Return nutrients back to the soil Fallen leaves and other plant debris act as a natural mulch, which slowly decomposes over the winter.
—Chris McKeown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Oct. 2025
When leaves fall to the ground, the carbon stays in these leaves, breaks down, and decomposes and releases nutrients back into the soil that plants can take in.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
The calculation, called the Fourier transform, decomposes any function into its parts.
—Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 3 Sep. 2025
Promise Longe, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2026
The clever bit is when these fuels flow through the Draper engine and encounter a catalyst that decomposes the hydrogen peroxide into high-pressure oxygen and steam.
—New Atlas, 25 Feb. 2026
The research team developed a route-planning system for Astrobee, the ISS’s robotic assistant, that leverages sequential convex programming—a method that decomposes complex trajectory planning into smaller, tractable steps while guaranteeing safety and feasibility.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Dec. 2025
Shilajit is a mineral-rich resin that forms over centuries as plant material slowly decomposes under heat and pressure within the rocks of the Himalayan Mountains.
—Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 27 Nov. 2025
Return nutrients back to the soil Fallen leaves and other plant debris act as a natural mulch, which slowly decomposes over the winter.
—Chris McKeown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Oct. 2025
When leaves fall to the ground, the carbon stays in these leaves, breaks down, and decomposes and releases nutrients back into the soil that plants can take in.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
The calculation, called the Fourier transform, decomposes any function into its parts.
—Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decomposes
Verb
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The café disintegrates, white-peach mimosas lost forever.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
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If the American state disintegrates, future postmortems are unlikely to focus much on measles, or on rotavirus vaccination rates.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In theory, beryllium-8 normally decays into two helium-4 nuclei.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
19 Mar. 2026
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This state then decays through a two-step cascade, releasing two photons in rapid succession.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The big differences between the labs probably reflect the fact that, as Italians like to say, the fish rots from the head.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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Bacterial plant diseases include speck (a winter-surviving infection that attacks tomatoes), canker (which damages fruit trees including those producing apples and peaches), and blight (which rots melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and more).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decomposes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decomposes. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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