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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



166 words match “DECAY”

PUTRID a. 2 definitions
Tending to decomposition or decay; decomposed; rotten; -- said of animal or vegetable matter; as, putrid flesh. See Putrefaction.
REFIT v.
To fit or prepare for use again; to repair; to restore after damage or decay; as, to refit a garment; to refit ships of war. Macaulay.
RELIC n.
That which remains; that which is left after loss or decay; a remaining portion; a remnant. Chaucer. Wyclif. The relics of lost innocence. Kebe. The fragments, scraps, the bits and greasy relics. Shak.
REPAIR v. 2 definitions
To restore to a sound or good state after decay, injury, dilapidation, or partial destruction; to renew; to restore; to mend; as, to repair a house, a road, a shoe, or a ship; to repair a shattered fortune. Secret refreshings that repair his strength. Milton. Do thou, as thou art wont, repair My heart with gladness. Wo…
RESTORE v. 2 definitions
To bring back to its former state; to bring back from a state of ruin, decay, disease, or the like; to repair; to renew; to recover. "To restore and to build Jerusalem." Dan. ix. 25. Our fortune restored after the severest afflictions. Prior. And his hand was restored whole as the other. Mark iii. 5.…
ROT v. 4 definitions
s more or less offensive odors; to become decomposed by a natural process; to putrefy; to decay. Fixed like a plant on his peculiar spot, To draw nutrition, propagate, and rot. Pope.
ROTTEN a.
Having rotted; putrid; decayed; as, a rotten apple; rotten meat. Hence:
RUIN n. 4 definitions
That which is fallen down and become worthless from injury or decay; as, his mind is a ruin; especially, in the plural, the remains of a destroyed, dilapidated, or desolate house, fortress, city, or the like. The Veian and the Gabian towers shall fall, And one promiscuous ruin cover all; Nor, after length of years, a s…
SAPROPHYTIC a.
Feeding or growing upon decaying anomal or vegetable matter; pertaining to a saprophyte or the saprophytes.
SCAVENGER n.
ion, or anything injurious to health. Scavenger beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle which feeds on decaying substances, as the carrion beetle. -- Scavanger crab (Zoöl.), any crab which feeds on dead animals, as the spider crab. -- Scavenger's daughter Etym: [corrupt. of Skevington's daughter], an instrument of torture invente…
SENESCENCE n.
The state of growing old; decay by time.
SENESCENT a.
Growing old; decaying with the lapse of time. "The night was senescent." Poe. "With too senescent air." Lowell.
SICKEN v.
To become weak; to decay; to languish. All pleasures sicken, and all glories sink. Pope.
SINK v.
s so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease. I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. Shak. He sunk down in his chariot. 2 Kings ix. 24. Let not the fire sink or slacken. Mortimer.
SLOUGH v.
To cast off; to discard as refuse. New tint the plumage of the birds, And slough decay from grazing herds. Emerson.
SNAG n.
A tooth projecting beyond the rest; contemptuously, a broken or decayed tooth. Prior.
SOUND a.
Whole; unbroken; unharmed; free from flaw, defect, or decay; perfect of the kind; as, sound timber; sound fruit; a sound tooth; a sound ship.
SOW n.
ing to Oniscus, Porcellio, and allied genera of the family Oniscidæ. They feed chiefly on decaying vegetable substances. -- Sow thistle Etym: [AS. sugepistel] (Bot.), a composite plant (Sonchus oleraceus) said to be eaten by swine and some other animals.
SPECK n.
f the main substance; a spot; a stain; a blemish; as, a speck on paper or loth; specks of decay in fruit. "Gray sand, with black specks." Anson.
SPHACELATE v.
To die, decay, or become gangrenous, as flesh or bone; to mortify.
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