as in rotting
to go through decomposition
detectives needed to know how long it would take a corpse to decompose to that advanced state
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in decomposed
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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 decomposing
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Oct. 2025
Gates visited Koie’s mountainside studio in Gifu with Koie’s daughter, who shared that her father would be okay with the studio decomposing into the mountain.
—Elizabeth Cantrell, Travel + Leisure, 26 Sep. 2025
Police later sawed open the floor to expose Grimes’ decomposing 135-pound body.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Sep. 2025
The following day, Authorities found Grimes’ decomposing body wrapped in a blanked and tarp in the crawl space.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of ripening fruit and decomposing produce.
—Christine Fiorentino, Southern Living, 22 Sep. 2025
Border Patrol search dogs visited the scene and alerted teams to a body decomposing there.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
The severely decomposing body discovered at a Los Angeles impound lot inside a Tesla, which was found to be registered to up-and-coming singer D4vd, has been identified as a missing Inland Empire teen whose death may soon launch a homicide investigation.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
On September 8, a decomposing body was discovered in D4vd's Tesla and was later identified as Rivas.
—Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
This prompts the straw to start decomposing, ensuring the bales won’t overheat and burn your plants later.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Oct. 2025
Gates visited Koie’s mountainside studio in Gifu with Koie’s daughter, who shared that her father would be okay with the studio decomposing into the mountain.
—Elizabeth Cantrell, Travel + Leisure, 26 Sep. 2025
Police later sawed open the floor to expose Grimes’ decomposing 135-pound body.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Sep. 2025
The following day, Authorities found Grimes’ decomposing body wrapped in a blanked and tarp in the crawl space.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2025
Fruit flies are attracted to the smell of ripening fruit and decomposing produce.
—Christine Fiorentino, Southern Living, 22 Sep. 2025
Border Patrol search dogs visited the scene and alerted teams to a body decomposing there.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
The severely decomposing body discovered at a Los Angeles impound lot inside a Tesla, which was found to be registered to up-and-coming singer D4vd, has been identified as a missing Inland Empire teen whose death may soon launch a homicide investigation.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
On September 8, a decomposing body was discovered in D4vd's Tesla and was later identified as Rivas.
—Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decomposing
Verb
-
There’s concerts, there’s dinners, there’s brunches, there’s rotting time at home.—
Jennifer Liu,
CNBC,
25 Sep. 2025
-
There, surrounding apple orchards and clumps of fallen, rotting fruit furnish the film with a rather literal visual metaphor, to which Etzler returns a bit too often.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The decomposed body found in singer D4vd's Tesla at a Los Angeles impound lot was identified as that of a 15-year-old girl.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
18 Sep. 2025
-
McCormack’s decomposed body was found in a pink suitcase near Missouri Highway 59 between Lanagan, Missouri, and Noel, Missouri, on July 29, 2019, according to the plea agreement.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Understanding Roly Poly Bugs Pillbugs and sowbugs are generalist scavengers, feeding on fungi, decaying matter, and occasionally plants, says Benson.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
23 Sep. 2025
-
Although that serves as the lynchpin of Hinako's journey through both her decaying town and the Otherworld, a strange realm that manifests itself through Hinako's fears and anxieties, the teenager's journey is rooted in more than just angst.—
Zackery Cuevas,
PC Magazine,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Of the 20 dead cats, eight were too decayed for a necropsy exam, which determines the cause of death of a dead animal and any associated diseases or injuries.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The breakthrough came when researchers focused on coelomic fluid, the internal liquid surrounding the sea stars’ organs, rather than tissue from decayed specimens.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The electrical grid is disintegrating, with hours-long blackouts common across the island.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
-
It’s been ripe for restoration since the 1970s and has sat, empty and disintegrating, for most of that time.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This smells strongly of rotten eggs.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
-
And adding insult to injury, the whole plant smells like rotten peanut butter.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Their party gets spoiled when a CCTV camera operator calls to inform the police.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Look who the spoiled brats are, relatively speaking.—
Grant Brisbee,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decomposing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decomposing. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share