as in decay
the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances
the unmistakable smell of decomposition led us to some fruit that had fallen behind the refrigerator
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decomposition
Noun
-
Meanwhile, about 40% of US children had access to optimal fluoride levels that effectively prevent tooth decay – between 0.6 and 1.5 milligrams per liter – while about 46% had access to even lower levels.—
Deidre McPhillips,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025 -
Fluoride is under increasingly intense fire despite its dramatic ability to prevent tooth decay.—
Erika Edwards,
NBC news,
30 May 2025
Noun
-
The grapes are hand-picked and undergo maceration on the skins for a few hours, then racked into terracotta jars towards the end of alcoholic fermentation, to permit proper temperature control.—
John Mariani,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
-
That’s just a side effect of all that good fermentation going on among your gut bugs.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
When the surgeons finally opened her with a piece of broken glass, the putrefaction was as warm as life.—
Nell Zink,
Harper's Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Here was an artist drawn irresistibly to executions and corpses, dismemberment and putrefaction.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
20 Apr. 2024
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.
Cite this Entry
“Decomposition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decomposition. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share