Synonyms for decay
dɪˈkeɪde·cay

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 2 votes

1. decay

   Rot is a strong word, ordinarily esteemed coarse, but on occasion capable of approved emphatic use; as, "the name of the wicked shall rot," Prov. x, 7; decay and decompose are now common euphemisms. A substance is decomposed when resolved into its original elements by any process; it is decayed when resolved into its original elements by natural processes; it decays gradually, but may be instantly decomposed, as water into oxygen and hydrogen; to say that a thing is decayed may denote only a partial result, but to say it is decomposed ordinarily implies that the change is complete or nearly so. Putrefy and the adjectives putrid and putrescent, and the nouns putridity and putrescence, are used almost exclusively of animal matter in a state of decomposition, the more general word decay being used of either animal or vegetable substances.

   Synonyms:
   corrupt, decompose, molder, putrefy, rot, spoil

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:1.3 / 3 votes

1. decayverb

   Synonyms:
   decline, wane, sink, dwindle, rot, wither, perish, waste, ebb, decrease

   Antonyms:
   rise, grow, increase, flourish, luxuriate, vegetate, expand, enlarge

2. decaynoun

   Synonyms:
   declension, waning, sinking, wasting, decrease, corruption, decadence, putrefaction, rottenness, dry rot, consumption, decline

   Antonyms:
   rise, growth, birth, increase, fertility, exuberance, luxuriance, prosperity

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:2.1 / 7 votes

1. decaynoun

   the process of gradually becoming inferior

   Synonyms:
   disintegration, decomposition, radioactive decay, decline

2. decay, declinenoun

   a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current

   Synonyms:
   disintegration, fall, downslope, descent, radioactive decay, decomposition, declension, decline, declivity, declination, diminution

3. decay, decompositionnoun

   the organic phenomenon of rotting

   Synonyms:
   disintegration, chemical decomposition reaction, decomposition, putrefaction, radioactive decay, vector decomposition, decline, rot, rotting, decomposition reaction

4. decaynoun

   an inferior state resulting from the process of decaying

   "the corpse was in an advanced state of decay"; "the house had fallen into a serious state of decay and disrepair"

   Synonyms:
   disintegration, decomposition, radioactive decay, decline

5. decay, radioactive decay, disintegrationverb

   the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation

   Synonyms:
   disintegration, decomposition, radioactive decay, decline, annihilation, dissolution

6. disintegrate, decay, decomposeverb

   lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current

   "the particles disintegrated during the nuclear fission process"

   Synonyms:
   break down, break up, moulder, disintegrate, decompose, molder, dilapidate, crumble, rot

7. decay, crumble, dilapidateverb

   fall into decay or ruin

   "The unoccupied house started to decay"

   Synonyms:
   break down, dilapidate, decompose, crumple, disintegrate, tumble, collapse, crumble, fall apart

8. decayverb

   undergo decay or decomposition

   "The body started to decay and needed to be cremated"

   Synonyms:
   crumble, decompose, dilapidate, disintegrate

Matched Categories

1. • Change
   • Natural Process
   • Organic Phenomenon
   • Unsoundness

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. decayverb

   Synonyms:
   decline, fail, deteriorate, wither, waste, perish, be impaired, waste away, fall into decay

2. decayverb

   Synonyms:
   rot, putrefy, be spoiled

3. decaynoun

   Synonyms:
   decline, decadence, deterioration, degeneracy

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. decaynoun

   Synonyms:
   deterioration, corruption, decline, decadence, senescence, retrogradation, decomposition, caducity, putrefaction, putrescence, rot, eremacausis

2. decayverb

   Synonyms:
   decline, retrograde, deteriorate, rot, decompose, putrefy, moulder

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "decay":

   decomposition, disintegration, rot, decadence, degradation, break-up, decline, breakdown, deterioration, degeneration, decomposing

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How to use decay in a sentence?

1. Feltham:

   The life of man is the incessant walk of nature, wherein every moment is a step towards death. Even our growing to perfection is a progress to decay. Every thought we have is a sand running out of the glass of life.

2. Fyodor Lukyanov:

   Each party sees the other as heading toward decay and lacking the moral and political right to behave as it does.

3. Jonathan Shenkin:

   This study simply adds to the body of evidence that associates secondhand smoke and an increased risk of tooth decay among children, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in childhood.

4. Charlie Paull:

   Since this is the first study of the decay of submerged permafrost, we don't have long-term data for the seafloor temperature in this region. The data we do have aren't showing a warming trend in these waters 150 meters( almost 500 feet) deep.

5. Sean Henderson:

   With options, I can place non-directional trades that make money through time decay.