Decay

decay
    n 1: the process of gradually becoming inferior
    2: a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current [syn:
       {decay}, {decline}]
    3: the organic phenomenon of rotting [syn: {decay},
       {decomposition}]
    4: an inferior state resulting from the process of decaying;
       "the corpse was in an advanced state of decay"; "the house
       had fallen into a serious state of decay and disrepair"
    5: the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance
       along with the emission of ionizing radiation [syn: {decay},
       {radioactive decay}, {disintegration}]
    v 1: lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current; "the
         particles disintegrated during the nuclear fission process"
         [syn: {disintegrate}, {decay}, {decompose}]
    2: fall into decay or ruin; "The unoccupied house started to
       decay" [syn: {decay}, {crumble}, {dilapidate}]
    3: undergo decay or decomposition; "The body started to decay
       and needed to be cremated"
    

Decay \De*cay"\, v. t.
   1. To cause to decay; to impair. [R.]
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            Infirmity, that decays the wise.      --Shak.
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   2. To destroy. [Obs.] --Shak.
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Decay \De*cay"\, n.
   1. Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness,
      prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection;
      tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption;
      rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the
      body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire;
      a castle in decay.
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            Perhaps my God, though he be far before,
            May turn, and take me by the hand, and more 
            May strengthen my decays.             --Herbert.
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            His [Johnson's] failure was not to be ascribed to
            intellectual decay.                   --Macaulay.
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            Which has caused the decay of the consonants to
            follow somewhat different laws.       --James Byrne.
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   2. Destruction; death. [Obs.] --Spenser.
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   3. Cause of decay. [R.]
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            He that plots to be the only figure among ciphers,
            is the decay of the whole age.        --Bacon.

   Syn: Decline; consumption. See {Decline}.
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Decay \De*cay"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Decayed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Decaying}.] [OF. decaeir, dechaer, decheoir, F. d['e]choir,
   to decline, fall, become less; L. de- + cadere to fall. See
   {Chance}.]
   To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state,
   to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste
   away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or
   disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes
   decay; hopes decay.
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         Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
         Where wealth accumulates and men decay.  --Goldsmith.
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decay
 n.,vi

   [from nuclear physics] An automatic conversion which is applied to
   most array-valued expressions in {C}; they `decay into' pointer-valued
   expressions pointing to the array's first element. This term is
   borderline techspeak, but is not used in the official standard for the
   language.
    

decay

   [Nuclear physics] An automatic conversion which is applied to
   most array-valued expressions in {C}; they "decay into"
   pointer-valued expressions pointing to the array's first
   element.  This term is not used in the official standard for
   the language.

   [{Jargon File}]
    

154 Moby Thesaurus words for "decay":
      ablate, ablation, atomization, atomize, atrophy, biodegradability,
      biodegradation, break down, break up, breakup, canker, caries,
      carrion, catalysis, catalyst, collapse, come apart, consume,
      contaminate, corrode, corrosion, corrupt, corruption, crack up,
      crumble, crumble into dust, crumbling, curdle, dandruff,
      debilitate, decadence, decline, decompose, decomposition, decrease,
      defile, degenerate, degeneration, degradability, degradation,
      deteriorate, deterioration, dialysis, dilapidate, dilapidation,
      diminish, disintegrate, disintegration, disjoin, disjunction,
      disorganization, disorganize, dissociation, dissolution, dissolve,
      downfall, dry rot, dwindle, ebb, enfeeble, erode, erosion,
      excrement, fading, failing, fall into decay, fall to pieces,
      ferment, fester, filth, fission, foul matter, foulness, furfur,
      gangrene, go bad, go off, go to pieces, go to pot, go to seed,
      hydrolysis, hydrolyst, incoherence, mess, mildew, mold, molder,
      mortification, mortify, mould, moulder, muck, mucus, necrose,
      necrosis, obscenity, ordure, oxidation, oxidization, perish,
      photolysis, pollute, pus, putrefaction, putrefy, putresce,
      putrescence, putrid matter, putridity, putridness, rancidity,
      rancidness, rankle, rankness, ravages of time, resolution, rot,
      rottenness, rotting, ruin, rust, sap, scurf, scuz, slime, slough,
      smut, snot, sordes, sour, sphacelate, sphacelation, sphacelus,
      split, splitting, spoil, spoilage, suppurate, taint, thermolysis,
      tooth decay, turn, undermine, wane, waste away, wasting, weaken,
      weakening, wear, wear and tear, wear away, wither, work, wreck