1
as in garbage
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
I won't stand here and listen to such rot
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposition
the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances
the rot begins shortly after the fish are killed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to deteriorate
to become worse or of less value
the house slowly fell into disrepair and rotted
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to decay
to go through decomposition
rotting vegetation on the bank of the river
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rot
Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
Choosing the right soil helps keep roots healthy, prevents rot, and makes houseplants easier to care for over the long term.
—Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 11 Feb. 2026
R. Alexander Bentley, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2026
Listeria monocytogenes, more commonly known as listeria, is a disease-causing bacteria that can be found in soil, water, sewage, rotting vegetation, and animals, according to the USDA.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rot
Noun
Here, the joyous and the boisterous contrast the dark and insidious, allowing viewers to both be delighted by colorful street scenes and celebrations while the rot of fear creeps in, as the details surrounding our main character (Wagner Moura) and his predicament are revealed.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Feb. 2026
Choosing the right soil helps keep roots healthy, prevents rot, and makes houseplants easier to care for over the long term.
—Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 11 Feb. 2026
Verb
Brain rot is one reason some AI pioneers now question whether large language models will achieve human-level intelligence.
—R. Alexander Bentley, The Conversation, 26 Feb. 2026
Listeria monocytogenes, more commonly known as listeria, is a disease-causing bacteria that can be found in soil, water, sewage, rotting vegetation, and animals, according to the USDA.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rot
Noun
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In the early days, Romanucci and Blandin started in a small office with a card table and a plastic bag for the garbage.—
Gregory Royal Pratt,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
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Grant Nelson, signed to a 10-day contract earlier in the afternoon, saw garbage minutes late alongside Wolf, Ben Saraf, Jalen Wilson and Ochai Agbaji.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Sometimes compost becomes too acidic during decomposition, Ivanov says—fireplace ash helps neutralize this acidity.—
Michelle Mastro,
Martha Stewart,
25 Feb. 2026
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In fact, adding brown material like toilet paper tubes will even speed up the decomposition process and balance out your green kitchen waste.—
Michelle Mastro,
The Spruce,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On January 8, when thousands took to the streets in Tehran to protest deteriorating living conditions, Abolfazl was among them.—
Jomana Karadsheh,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
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In an environment defined by market volatility, stubborn inflation and deteriorating correlations between traditional assets, gold's role has become harder to argue against.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Structures started to decay under a building moratorium.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
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For her, the little pink houses of our decaying American mythology are still haunted enough to give her a few more good short stories.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The spline structure inside the nuts, the non-fixed gripping posture, and interference from magnetic forces significantly increased assembly complexity.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Mar. 2026
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Pillowy layers of white cake make this one a classic, but an assortment of fruits and nuts like cherries and pecans set it apart.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The axis started to crumble soon after the attacks.—
Abbas Al Lawati,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
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But a review of court records and other documents offers a window into how a technology project envisioned as reshaping education crumbled amid allegations of fraud.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Mushrooms also thrive in decomposing wood mulch.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
26 Feb. 2026
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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,
New Atlas,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Understanding the hilarity and nonsense of this comment can help understand why there is so much division in our country today.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Feb. 2026
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The dystopian extreme is AI model collapse, in which systems trained heavily on their own output begin to produce nonsense.—
R. Alexander Bentley,
The Conversation,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rot. Accessed 5 Mar. 2026.
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