decay

Questions about decay

What is another word for decay?

Across its 8 senses, decay has 8 distinct synonyms: decline, decomposition, radioactive decay, disintegration, disintegrate, decompose, crumble, dilapidate. Each belongs to a specific meaning, listed on this page under the sense it serves.

What is the opposite of decay?

WordNet records no antonym for decay. Antonymy in WordNet is a relation between specific word forms rather than between concepts, so it is recorded only where lexicographers judged the pairing direct. An absence here means none was recorded, not that none can be imagined.

Why are the synonyms for decay split into groups?

Because decay carries 8 recorded senses and each has its own set of substitutes. A single flat list would put words from unrelated meanings side by side with nothing to tell them apart, which is exactly how a writer picks the wrong one. The grouping comes from WordNet's synsets, not from an editorial judgement of ours.

Where do the synonyms for decay come from?

From Princeton University's WordNet, a lexical database maintained by lexicographers since 1985. A synonym here means a word form that shares a synset with this word — a set of forms interchangeable in one recorded context. Nothing on this page is generated by a language model.

Other views of decay

• Full entry for decayAll 8 senses, with examples, usage labels, syllables and pronunciation.
• Rhymes for decayWords matching from the last stressed vowel onward, grouped by syllable count.
• Thesaurus homeHow WordNet synsets work, and the collections built for synonym work.