1
as in deteriorates
to become worse or of less value
the house slowly fell into disrepair and rotted
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposes
to go through decomposition
rotting vegetation on the bank of the river
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rots
If Britain continues down the path of criminalizing thought and prayer, the alliance risks being reduced to polite diplomacy while its moral core rots away.
—
Lois McLatchie Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Lois McLatchie Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rots
Verb
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As the situation deteriorates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany among others have urged their nationals to leave Bamako.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
2 Nov. 2025
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Exposure to such content also deteriorates her audience’s ability to form beliefs on the basis of the evidence and primes them for skepticism toward consequential matters like vaccines and medicine.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Toby’s display, overall, looks a lot nicer, but when Paul goes to take a slice of his cake from the chocolate case, the whole thing crumbles to a mess.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
3 Oct. 2025
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At times, the house would break apart onstage, with the top half lifted in the air, only for YoungBoy to start aggressively rapping, standing supreme while the house crumbles around him.—
Jayson Buford,
Rolling Stone,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While the missile could, in theory, bypass missile defenses, each test risks radioactive fallout if the reactor disintegrates during flight or on impact.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
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Ethan Hawke stars as Lorenz Hart of legendary songsmiths Rodgers & Hart as the prolific partnership disintegrates to his great dismay.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the film, a young girl (Linda Blair) becomes possessed by a demon and gradually descends into madness.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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The stakes just keep getting higher in this Grand Guignol of bloodthirsty excess, as bereaved government agent Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) descends into shocking depravity in his pursuit of serial killer Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik).—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The most common isotope, plutonium-239, is produced when the most common isotope of uranium, uranium-238, absorbs a neutron and then quickly decays to plutonium.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Oct. 2025
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The heartwood in the tree’s center decays first and makes for easy excavating.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Just like a traditional hangover, ignoring the need to rest only worsens an introvert hangover.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
28 Oct. 2025
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Chronic brain inflammation contributes to neuronal death and worsens amyloid and tau pathology.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In older men, as testosterone naturally declines, gynecomastia becomes more common, often combined with weight gain or medications that alter hormone levels.—
Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt,
CNN Money,
26 Oct. 2025
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Nazareth now declines to confirm whether the deal has been finalized off-screen or not.—
Tom Huddleston Jr.,
CNBC,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rots. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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