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y or substance into its elementary parts; separation into constituent part; analysis; the decay or dissolution consequent on the removal or alteration of some of the ingredients of a compound; disintegration; as, the decomposition of wood, rocks, etc.

A becoming less; gradual diminution; decay; as, a decrease of revenue or of strength.

The broken state produced by decay and the infirmities of age; infirm old age.

To bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin, by misuse or through neglect; to destroy the fairness and good condition of; -- said of a building. If the bishop, parson, or vicar, etc., dilapidates the buildings, or cuts down the timber of the patrimony. Blackstone.

Decayed; fallen into partial ruin; injured by bad usage or neglect. A deserted and dilapidated buildings. Cooper.

The act of dilapidating, or the state of being dilapidated, reduced to decay, partially ruined, or squandered. Tell the people that are relived by the dilapidation of their public estate. Burke.

hreadlike stems. It attaches itself to some other plant, as to flax, goldenrod, etc., and decaying at the root. is nourished by the plant that supports it.

An old, decayed tree. [R.] Bacon.

Decayed. "Some old dotterel trees." [Obs.] Ascham.

Having decayed spots or streaks of a whitish color; -- said of timber. Weale.

Eng. Law), a rent reserved by deed, without a clause of distress. Bouvier. -- Dry rot, a decay of timber, reducing its fibers to the condition of a dry powdery dust, often accompanied by the presence of a peculiar fungus (Merulius lacrymans), which is sometimes considered the cause of the decay; but it is more probabl…

n any condition; the power of resisting agents or influences which tend to cause changes, decay, or dissolution; lastingness. A Gothic cathedral raises ideas of grandeur in our minds by the size, its height, . . . its antiquity, and its durability. Blair.

inue in a particular condition; lasting; not perishable or changeable; not wearing out or decaying soon; enduring; as, durable cloth; durable happiness. Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. Prov. viii. 18. An interest which from its object and grounds must be so durable. De Quincey.…

passing away; a falling from a better to a worse state; low state or condition; decline; decay. "Our ebb of life." Roscommon. Painting was then at its lowest ebb. Dryden. Ebb and flow, the alternate ebb and flood of the tide; often used figuratively. This alternation between unhealthy activity and depression, this ebb…

To anoint all over with balm; especially, to preserve from decay by means of balm or other aromatic oils, or spices; to fill or impregnate (a dead body), with aromatics and drugs that it may resist putrefaction. Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm embalmed Israel. Gem. l. 2.

Perished; decayed. [Obs.] I deem thy brain emperished be. Spenser.

A gradual oxidation from exposure to air and moisture, as in the decay of old trees or of dead animals.

f vapor, fume, or steam; effluvium; emanation; as, exhalations from the earth or flowers, decaying matter, etc. Ye mists and exhalations, that now rise From hill or steaming lake. Milton.

To become fade; to grow weak; to lose strength; to decay; to perish gradually; to wither, as a plant. The earth mourneth and fadeth away. Is. xxiv. 4.

To fall away; to become diminished; to decline; to decay; to sink. When earnestly they seek Such proof, conclude they then begin to fail. Milton.