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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposing
to go through decomposition rotting vegetation on the bank of the river

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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
Getting the rotting food off racks towering six stories high required hundreds of workers in protective suits to dislodge the moldering food. — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026 The zombie – slow moving, with sallow complexion, hollow eyes, rotting teeth and a hunger for human flesh – has been lumbering through Hollywood movies for decades now. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 Sep. 2026 The next night, at around four o’clock in the morning, the wind in lower Manhattan shifted and the smell of rotting flesh came through the window of my apartment, a little more than a mile northeast of Ground Zero. — Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026 Gadgets with screens of any size have long been allegedly melting, rotting, and/or corrupting the brains of youths for decades. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026 Flies buzz over the rotting carcass, which is riven by claw marks so unnaturally deep that no one can determine whomauledit. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026 Hornets are attracted to sugary and protein food scraps, rotting foods, and sticky residues. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 3 Sep. 2026 The government still has not come up with a solution to the mountainous piles of rotting garbage that accumulate on the streets for months. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026 Its paint was peeling, clapboards were rotting, and a tarp covered a leaking roof, according to the Times. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 28 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
  • Ewa Mroczkowska’s production design also turns dewy embankments, decadent interiors, and sunrises over cemeteries into visions of storybook-like decay.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
  • One of them in particular, portrayed with vicious snark by Vicky Krieps, revels in the moral decay of her times, thirsting for blood.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of decay
Verb
  • But even with its new foundation and sweeping ceiling, the history of the old, deteriorating barn won’t be lost.
    — Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In the four months before killing her three children and attempting to kill herself, Lindsay Clancy desperately sought help for her deteriorating mental condition.
    — Tara Bannow, STAT, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of deteriorating
Verb
  • Fifteen months later, 56 decomposing bodies were found at their South Chicago Chapel.
    — Susana Mendoza, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026
  • As excavations for the foundation got underway, bones and decomposing bodies were found, releasing a horrid odor and spreading yellow fever across the island.
    — Victoria Davies, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of decomposing
Adjective
  • Liberal critics, however, argued—also rightly—that the Soviet Union was a decaying, economically crippled giant by the time Reagan was inaugurated.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026
  • 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
  • The rest of the world is watching the crumbling of America’s economic relationship with its closest trading partner, and an administration that is calling into question the sanctity of free trade agreements generally.
    — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Biting into it feels tectonic, cracking and flaking and crumbling, the gravity of umami keeping it all together.
    — The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of crumbling
Verb
  • Due to phenomena such as aging populations and climate change, the situation is worsening.
    — Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • If memory problems are new, worsening or interfering with everyday life, talk with a healthcare professional.
    — Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of worsening
Verb
  • Scott’s face, in this shot, is a whole novel, disintegrating into tears before being shored up again, eventually rearranged into something resembling a welcoming smile that teeters on the edge of collapse.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The 110-floor south tower, struck shortly after the north tower by another plane, was disintegrating.
    — Diane Herbst, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 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 19 Sep. 2026.

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