rotting 1 of 3

adjective

as in rotted

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rotting

2 of 3

noun

as in decay

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rotting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of rot
1
as in deteriorating
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 decomposing
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 rotting
Verb
The Lineage warehouse fire, which erupted a mile away nearly two months ago, still blankets the church every morning with the fetid stench of millions of pounds of rotting food that have yet to be trucked away. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026 The smell of rotting food follows Juan Canil like a second shadow. — Celina Tebor, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026 Inspectors found seven dead roaches under kitchen equipment and also noted accumulations of mold and rotting food debris, according to the report. — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Aug. 2026 Plant it in loose, fast-draining soil mixed with perlite, pumice, or orchid bark, or a combination of all, to keep the roots from rotting. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 6 Aug. 2026 Many speakers shared the same concerns about how the warehouse fire and smoke, and ongoing impacts from rotting food, have harmed their health. — City News Service, Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 Diapers, piano books and now a plethora of things to keep me from rotting on my phone. — Sam Woodward, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026 To this day, the putrid, offensive odor coming from the tens of millions of pounds of rotting food in the warehouse is unbearable for families. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026 Its pre-drilled holes allow for proper drainage, preventing the kindling from storing moisture and rotting. — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rotting
  1. rotted
  2. decay
  3. deteriorating
  4. decomposing
  5. decaying
  6. crumbling
  7. worsening
  8. disintegrating
Adjective
  • Inspect fences and perform any repairs or maintenance, such as reinforcing posts or replacing rotted sections.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
  • Many grapes become too rotted and are left to wither away.
    — John Mariani, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Definition of rotted
Noun
  • Voyager 2 and its twin launched in 1977, called Voyager 1, rely on a form of nuclear battery known as a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that uses the heat produced by the decay of plutonium.
    — Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Tritium undergoes radioactive decay, emitting particles that can degrade porous materials over time.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of decay
Verb
  • Guzmán pointed to Colombia’s deteriorating fiscal position as the administration’s most immediate challenge.
    — Armando Regil Velasco, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The deteriorating security situation at sea is a huge challenge for everybody in the maritime shipping community.
    — Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of deteriorating
Verb
  • The case dates to March 11, 2022, when police in the Central Valley city of Merced found the girl’s decomposing body in the basement bathroom of a house.
    — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Authorities said the remains included bones believed to belong to four newborns and the decomposing body of a fifth.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of decomposing
Adjective
  • The district also could be in for other major changes in the coming years, including the opening of a few new schools to replace multiple decaying, underenrolled schools.
    — Scott Travis, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026
Definition of decaying
Noun
  • Putin and his Kremlin oligarchs have confidently anticipated a crumbling of Western assistance for Ukraine.
    — Ihor N. Stelmach, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026
  • There is so much discussion about the demise of literacy and the crumbling of the American education system.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 13 July 2026
Definition of crumbling
Verb
  • Faced with a tight supply of interceptors and worsening attacks on its cities, Kyiv has been pressing Washington to co-produce the Patriot system.
    — Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Climate change is worsening extreme summer heat, something that more trees can ease.
    — Len Maniace, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of worsening
Verb
  • Others rot in the California sun, disintegrating into bony fragments.
    — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
  • The experiments have shown how a self-repair mechanism enables the spindle to stabilize itself under force and avoid disintegrating.
    — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 29 June 2026
Definition of disintegrating

Browse Nearby Words

rotters
rotting
rotund
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Cite this Entry

“Rotting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rotting. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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