as in decomposed
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as in rotting
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 decomposing
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
Conversely, if Iran begins decomposing, its launch tempo will slow.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 5 Mar. 2026
To prevent the fallow area from turning into a weed patch, cover it with agricultural-grade plastic or a thick layer of slowly decomposing mulch such as wood chips.
—Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 20 Feb. 2026
Jon Hallford, a southern Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 200 decomposing bodies and gave families fake ashes, was sentenced on state charges on Friday.
—Maria Braganini, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
His work on Prototaxites fossils has shown that the ancient organisms didn’t use photosynthesis to produce energy from light like plants, but likely consumed carbon sources in the environment — just as some living fungi live off decomposing organic matter.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
The following month, on April 17, 1996, two county workers stumbled across the decomposing remains of Kenneth Smith.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
In desert regions, natural mummification is common due to the dry conditions where fungi and bacteria can’t thrive on a decomposing corpse.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Jan. 2026
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
Conversely, if Iran begins decomposing, its launch tempo will slow.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 5 Mar. 2026
To prevent the fallow area from turning into a weed patch, cover it with agricultural-grade plastic or a thick layer of slowly decomposing mulch such as wood chips.
—Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 20 Feb. 2026
Jon Hallford, a southern Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 200 decomposing bodies and gave families fake ashes, was sentenced on state charges on Friday.
—Maria Braganini, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
His work on Prototaxites fossils has shown that the ancient organisms didn’t use photosynthesis to produce energy from light like plants, but likely consumed carbon sources in the environment — just as some living fungi live off decomposing organic matter.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 5 Feb. 2026
The following month, on April 17, 1996, two county workers stumbled across the decomposing remains of Kenneth Smith.
—Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
In desert regions, natural mummification is common due to the dry conditions where fungi and bacteria can’t thrive on a decomposing corpse.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decomposing
Adjective
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According to Silverman, the officers unzipped the bag and saw a decomposed head and torso.—
Kyung Lah,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
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Officers unzipped the bag and found a decomposed head and torso, according to the documents.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When Corms Don't Sprout If your corms haven’t sprouted after two weeks, there could be several reasons for this, such as rotting due to overwatering, insufficient warmth and humidity, or the corms being too dry.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
13 Mar. 2026
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But different types of seeds have different germination and growth rates (aka ‘days to harvest’), and timing this against your area’s last frost date is your secret weapon against leggy tomato seedlings that still can’t go outside, or pea seeds rotting in cold, wet soil.—
Marianne Willburn,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That lurid fable was followed by 2023’s Pictures of Ghosts, an impressionistic documentary that told the parallel stories of Mendonça Filho’s life in movies and Recife’s decaying cinemas.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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The series doesn’t shyaway from the gory intricacies of death, including decaying cadavers and the detailed autopsies Kay performs.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Some are sandy; others are rich in organic matter formed from centuries of decayed plants.—
Dinesh Phuyal,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
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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
Verb
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Watched behind his closed eyelids the eruption of strange visual forms, shapes of light blooming and disintegrating, blue green and yellow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
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Is there also a whiff of nostalgia in the slow movement, for a world disintegrating in brutality?—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Many grapes become too rotted and are left to wither away.—
John Mariani,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But it’s most often used in a more contemporary story as an ancestral home of an ancient, perhaps even rotten Establishment.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
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False teeth had been used since Colonial years, with various attempts to replace rotten teeth that had been extracted to avoid illness.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Smart, capable and quick-witted, Toha’s current joy comes from her relationship with Nelly (Khadija Ahmed), the spoiled granddaughter of her employer (Hanan Youssef), a tetchy, elderly diabetic.—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
25 Feb. 2026
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Trump may be a little spoiled, as the Republican-majority high court has supported most of his positions.—
Tom Zirpoli,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decomposing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decomposing. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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