1
as in deteriorates
to become worse or of less value
the house slowly fell into disrepair and rotted
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decomposes
to go through decomposition
rotting vegetation on the bank of the river
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of rots
The big differences between the labs probably reflect the fact that, as Italians like to say, the fish rots from the head.
—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
Bacterial plant diseases include speck (a winter-surviving infection that attacks tomatoes), canker (which damages fruit trees including those producing apples and peaches), and blight (which rots melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and more).
—New Atlas, 10 Jan. 2026
Critics have long warned that too much television rots your brain, but new evidence suggests at least some time in front of the tube may actually benefit your mental health.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Jan. 2026
If Britain continues down the path of criminalizing thought and prayer, the alliance risks being reduced to polite diplomacy while its moral core rots away.
—Lois McLatchie Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
Bacterial plant diseases include speck (a winter-surviving infection that attacks tomatoes), canker (which damages fruit trees including those producing apples and peaches), and blight (which rots melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, beans, and more).
—New Atlas, 10 Jan. 2026
Critics have long warned that too much television rots your brain, but new evidence suggests at least some time in front of the tube may actually benefit your mental health.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 7 Jan. 2026
If Britain continues down the path of criminalizing thought and prayer, the alliance risks being reduced to polite diplomacy while its moral core rots away.
—Lois McLatchie Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rots
Verb
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Emily Demirdonder, director of operations and marketing at Proximity Plumbing, said the rubber backing deteriorates in hot water and breaks apart during the spin cycle, and those fragments can block drain pumps and drainage pipes—sometimes leading to flooding and machine failure.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
28 Jan. 2026
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Staying at home when weather deteriorates will allow essential personnel to travel more safely to work.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The research team developed a route-planning system for Astrobee, the ISS’s robotic assistant, that leverages sequential convex programming—a method that decomposes complex trajectory planning into smaller, tractable steps while guaranteeing safety and feasibility.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Dec. 2025
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Shilajit is a mineral-rich resin that forms over centuries as plant material slowly decomposes under heat and pressure within the rocks of the Himalayan Mountains.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Verywell Health,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The song was inspired by surviving a toxic relationship, and then finding a true-hearted love that crumbles emotional walls.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
15 Jan. 2026
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Academic success means little if a child crumbles under stress.—
Dr. Mona Amin,
CNBC,
5 Dec. 2025
Verb
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If the American state disintegrates, future postmortems are unlikely to focus much on measles, or on rotavirus vaccination rates.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
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The debris – space rocks known as meteoroids – collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky, according to NASA.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The situation quickly spirals out of control, and her life descends into chaos.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Feb. 2026
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The festive horror centers on Gino, whose traditional Italian family Christmas Eve celebration descends into chaos when his deceased grandmother returns from the dead and embarks on a killing spree.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Grief gets layered on top of grief and secrets stack sky high as suburban normalcy decays into something at once alarmingly unstable and comfortingly funny.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Dec. 2025
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This famously happens when a quantum object is measured, but in this case, the mystery crops up when the top quark decays into lighter particles.—
Shalma Wegsman,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Doctors monitor progression and severity of the disease by measuring the size of the left ventricle, the heart’s muscle that pumps blood to the body, which shrinks as the condition worsens.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
5 Feb. 2026
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Software stock slide worsens on AI fears US software stocks sank further Tuesday on swelling investor fears that new AI tools will eat their lunch.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As the population ages and the number of college students declines, institutions of higher education are actively cultivating a crop of midlife and older students.—
Allison Aubrey,
NPR,
9 Feb. 2026
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Ed Setzler declines to run to replace Barry Loudermilk.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rots. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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