rots

verb

present tense third-person singular of rot
1
as in deteriorates
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 decomposes
to go through decomposition rotting vegetation on the bank of the river

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 rots In my experience, environment, culture, clarity, psychological safety and pace determine whether talent produces or rots. — Nilton Bernini, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026 And be prepared to top off the soil in the future as the remaining root system rots away, causing the soil to sag. — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2026 Messages break down, signals decay, information rots; the stuff of everyday data dystopia and media apocalypse, but in Braxton’s hands, raw material to be shaped into something recombinant and strange. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026 Medicine shortages have worsened and food rots in fridges without power. — Andrea Rodriguez, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026 Parents used to tell their children that television rots the brain; now it’s considered a medium for legitimate art. — New York Times, 1 June 2026 When the seaweed rots, hydrogen sulfide gas is emitted, which smells like rotten eggs. — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2026 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 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, 10 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rots
  1. deteriorates
  2. decomposes
  3. crumbles
  4. disintegrates
  5. descends
  6. decays
  7. worsens
  8. declines
Verb
  • Keep the effort easy enough that your movement quality improves rather than deteriorates.
    — Dana Santas, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Each function can hit its KPI while the overall customer or commercial outcome deteriorates.
    — Sumit Srivastava, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of deteriorates
Verb
  • Named for the Frenchman Joseph Fourier, the Fourier transform decomposes any function into a set of simple waves, each with a different frequency, or tone.
    — Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The research team enabled a room-temperature, four-electron chemical reaction path that forms and decomposes lithium oxide, which expands available energy storage.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 June 2026
Definition of decomposes
Verb
  • When new, concrete possesses a thin, temporarily protective layer that, if not maintained, will wear away, exposing the interior, which gradually crumbles.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The Packers’ identity is that of a team that can’t shut the door, one that crumbles when momentum turns in a hostile away environment.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of crumbles
Verb
  • Even those who can afford to stay suffer losses in home equity and lifestyle as the community around them disintegrates or disappears.
    — The Conversation, Fortune, 12 June 2026
  • None are quite about the conflicting frames of reference and value that arise when an ancient cultural formation disintegrates and a successor has yet to take its place.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Definition of disintegrates
Verb
  • Dawn breaks over the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii as the Starship, now out of the re-entry heating zone, descends toward splashdown looking none the worse for the wear.
    — William Harwood, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Beneath it, museumgoers line up to drop a ball into a teak ramp that descends down the length of the Guggenheim spiral.
    — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of descends
Verb
  • By writing an out-of-the-money call and an out-of-the-money put for late October, traders can harvest the elevated premium as time value rapidly decays.
    — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026
  • This radioisotope decays into technetium-99m, an essential diagnostic imaging agent used to detect cancer and cardiovascular disease.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of decays
Verb
  • Ask yourself what scenario is going to provide your brother with the best care, especially as his condition worsens and his needs change.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The musician, 60, sat down with Tamron Hall for a candid conversation about living with Parkinson’s disease, which affects the nervous system, can affect movement and often worsens over time.
    — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of worsens
Verb
  • The companies offered more customer assurances in July, alongside more service protections that would enable customers to obtain temporary access to alternative rail services in the event of performance declines.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Bottura, who declines cooking at most food events nowadays, was driving when Gelb called to invite him to Utah and Las Vegas.
    — Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of declines

Browse Nearby Words

rototills
rots
rotted
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Cite this Entry

“Rots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rots. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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