Antonyms for decay
| Grammar : Noun, verb |
| Spell : dih-key |
| Phonetic Transcription : dɪˈkeɪ |
Definition of decay
Origin :- late 15c., "to decrease," from Anglo-French decair, Old North French decair (Old French decheoir, 12c., Modern French déchoir) "to fall, set (of the sun), weaken, decline, decay," from Vulgar Latin *decadere "to fall off," from de- (see de-) + Latin cadere "to fall" (see case (n.1)). Meaning "decline, deteriorate" is c.1500; that of "to decompose, rot" is from 1570s. Related: Decayed; decaying.
- noun breaking down, collapse
- verb deteriorate, crumble
- She was aware of the creeping fret, the poisons and obstructions of decay.
- Extract from : « Life and Death of Harriett Frean » by May Sinclair
- To get it all you must live there, to be interpenetrated by its glory of decay.
- Extract from : « The Conquest of Fear » by Basil King
- Old age and decay, bad enough in themselves, we intensify by our habits of mind.
- Extract from : « The Conquest of Fear » by Basil King
- Will you have nothing to remember him by but his ruin and decay?
- Extract from : « Little Dorrit » by Charles Dickens
- Is the something else, the decay of dead citizens in the vaults below?
- Extract from : « The Uncommercial Traveller » by Charles Dickens
- Martin thought the inconsistency a part of his weakness and decay.
- Extract from : « Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit » by Charles Dickens
- When Tom Pembroke knew it best, its old age and decay had well set in.
- Extract from : « The Inn at the Red Oak » by Latta Griswold
- Of its own decay the old morality has fallen in a confusion of ruin.
- Extract from : « The Truth About Woman » by C. Gasquoine Hartley
- The surveyor of Hartwell also notes that the "tenements there be in decay."
- Extract from : « The Enclosures in England » by Harriett Bradley
- It had shrunk up in its decay, and the heap it formed was quite small.
- Extract from : « Therese Raquin » by Emile Zola
Synonyms for decay
- adulteration
- atrophy
- be impaired
- become contaminated
- blight
- break up
- caries
- collapse
- consumption
- corrode
- corrosion
- crumbling
- curdle
- decadence
- decline
- decompose
- decomposition
- decrease
- decrepitude
- defile
- degeneracy
- degenerate
- degeneration
- depreciate
- depreciation
- deterioration
- dilapidation
- discolor
- disintegrate
- disintegration
- disrepair
- dissolution
- dissolve
- downfall
- dry-rot
- dwindle
- dying
- extinction
- fade
- fading
- fail
- failing
- gangrene
- get worse
- go bad
- go to seed
- go to the dogs
- hit rock bottom
- hit the skids
- impairment
- lessen
- mildew
- mold
- molder
- mortification
- mortify
- pejorate
- perish
- perishing
- pollute
- putrefaction
- putrefy
- putresce
- putrescence
- putridity
- putridness
- reach depths
- rot
- rotting
- ruin
- ruination
- rust
- sap
- senescence
- shrivel
- sicken
- sink
- slump
- spoil
- spoilage
- spoilation
- suppurate
- turn
- wane
- waste away
- wasting
- wasting away
- weaken
- wear away
- wither
- withering
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019