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DECAY, DECOMPOSE, ROT, PUTREFY, SPOIL mean to undergo destructive dissolution.

DECAY implies a slow change from a state of soundness or perfection.

e.g. a decaying mansion

DECOMPOSE stresses a breaking down by chemical change and when applied to organic matter a corruption.

e.g. the strong odor of decomposing vegetation

ROT is a close synonym of DECOMPOSE and often connotes foulness.

e.g. fruit was left to rot in warehouses

PUTREFY implies the rotting of animal matter and offensiveness to sight and smell.

e.g. corpses putrefying on the battlefield

SPOIL applies chiefly to the decomposition of foods.

e.g. keep the ham from spoiling

verb no object

(of organic matter) rot or decompose through the action of bacteria and fungi:

〈物が〉(次第に)腐る, 腐敗する; 〈歯が〉虫歯になる(→ rot); 〈物が〉腐って «…に» なる «into»

e.g. (as adjective decaying) : the odor of decaying fish

e.g. (as adjective decayed) : a decayed cabbage leaf.

with object cause to rot or decompose:

〈物〉を腐敗させる; …を衰えさせる

e.g. the fungus will decay soft timber.

(of a building or area) fall into disrepair; deteriorate:

〈建造物などが〉(徐々に)老朽化する (!しばしば進行形で)

e.g. urban neighborhoods decay when elevated freeways replace surface roads.

decline in quality, power, or vigor:

〈社会･制度などが〉腐敗する, 荒廃する; 〈健康･富･勢力･美などが〉衰える, 衰退する; 堕落する (!しばしば進行形で) .

e.g. the moral authority of the party was decaying.

Physics (of a radioactive substance, particle, etc.) undergo change to a different form by emitting radiation:

〘物理〙 〈放射性物質が〉崩壊する

e.g. the trapped radiocarbon begins to decay at a known rate.

technical (of a physical quantity) undergo a gradual decrease:

〈物理量が〉減衰する

e.g. the time taken for the current to decay to zero.

the state or process of rotting or decomposition:

腐敗, 腐食, 腐ること

e.g. hardwood is more resistant to decay than softwood

e.g. bacterial decay.

rotten matter or tissue:

虫歯(の部分)

e.g. fluoride heals small spots of decay.

structural or physical deterioration:

(建造物などの)老朽化, 荒廃

e.g. the old barn rapidly fell into decay.

the process of declining in quality, power, or vigor:

(精神･健康･富･勢いなどの)衰退, 衰え; 荒廃

e.g. preachers warning of moral decay.

Physics the change of a radioactive substance, particle, etc. into another by the emission of radiation:

〘物理〙 (放射性物質の)崩壊

e.g. the gas radon is produced by the decay of uranium in rocks and soil.

technical gradual decrease in the magnitude of a physical quantity:

(物理量の)減衰

e.g. the decay of electrical fields in the electromagnets.

late Middle English: from Old French decair, based on Latin decidere ‘fall down or fall off’, from de- ‘from’ + cadere ‘fall’.